An unacceptable capitulation in the second half saw us concede four times in the final 36 minutes, handing Arsenal a convincing win at the Emirates.
Here’s an assessment of each player’s performance along with our marks out of 10:
STARTING 11
Dubravka – 5 – Had a horrible moment for Ozil’s goal, but if there is one player who has a mistake in the goodwill rank, it’s him. Made a good save to deny Pepe’s free-kick in the first half.
Lazaro – 4 – Looked sharp early on and got some joy down our right-hand side – dinking on into Longstaff and seeming alert at both ends. That changed in the second half, however, with him ball watching for Aubameyang’s opener and being skinned by Saka in the build up to Arsenal’s second. Showed glimpses but ultimately contributed to our downfall. That said, there’s clearly a player in there, so he should start vs Palace next time out.
Fernandez – 4 – A few good tackles as usual, and of course gives his all but is guilty of ball watching at times, with him leaving Lazaro to deal with Aubameyang for their opener. Subbed off for Matt Ritchie late on.
Lascelles – 5 – Commanding first half, but suffered in the second when the team lost its shape and were left too exposed.
Clark – 5 – Defensively solid enough mostly but taken off after a nasty collision with Saka – and has left the ground on crutches as a result. Could’ve got a 6 if he hadn’t missed an absolute sitter at 2-0.
Rose – 6 – Decent in the first half and looked to be forging a good partnership with ASM but faded badly second half and gave away a few petulant fouls. Showed his quality at times, but was looks a little unfit (was puffing badly early on at one point).
Bentaleb – 4 – Slow to get back at times, with him doing nowhere near enough as he was bypassed by Ozil in the build up to his late goal. Has shown moments of quality, but seems off the pace right now – and that’s the issue with signing players who weren’t playing at their parent clubs.
S Longstaff – 5 – Looked to get forward well in the first half but an absolute shadow of the player he was last year. Ponderous and naive.
Almiron – 4 – Enthusiastic as ever, but decision making in the final third was shocking today. Hard work is his default setting, but there was one run in the first half when he went past 4 players in brilliant run them turned back on himself with the last man to beat. Needs to slow down and think about it.
Saint-Maximin – 7 – Produced by far our best moments attacking, skinning Bellerin a few times, putting it on a plate for Clark and but still needs to make better decisions. He passes when he should drive on and runs down alleys when a simple pass is on at times.
Joelinton – 6 – Started brilliantly. His hold up play was excellent, looked mobile and wanted the ball. Faded spectacularly with the scoreline, but fed off scraps once again. Almiron and ASM give us pace and energy on the break, but their service into him is too erratic.
