Arsenal v Swansea City: Player Ratings
Following a couple good league results- and despite the train wreck against Anderlecht- there was some hope for Arsenal against a solid Swansea side. That hope was realized when Alexis put the Gunners ahead at Liberty Stadium, but two goals for Swansea within a couple of minutes saw another league defeat for Arsenal and another hammer blow for aspirations this season. Here are your player ratings:
WOJCIECH SZCZESNY
GK, Arsenal FC7.5
Had a moment of poor communication with Chambers in the first half. Sigurdsson’s free kick was far too good and the second was a result of significant defensive failures. The lack of clean sheets are disturbing, but only to be expected with the defensive frailty at the back.
CALUM CHAMBERS
RB, Arsenal FC6.3
Miserable day for the young lad. He was off the pace from the first kick and his yellow card affected his decisions for the rest of the match. Burned horrifically on the second goal.
PER MERTESACKER
CB, Arsenal FC6.8
So difficult to rate a veteran defender who has deputies on either side of him, but Mertesacker isn’t where he was last year. That is, however, only partially his fault. The biggest knock against Mertesacker today was the free header he sent wide of goal. Frustration must be mounting for him as the defence continues to bleed.
NACHO MONREAL
CB, Arsenal FC6.5
Handled Bony pretty well, surprisingly, but it was his man, Gomis, who took three points for Swansea. This defence is brutal, and the frustrations with individual players are stacking up.
KIERAN GIBBS
LB, Arsenal FC7.2
One of six Arsenal players with a yellow card, Gibbs was dominated in the air, though he did well to contain the left. In fairness, Swansea knew the weaknesses were on Arsenal’s right flank today, and the majority of attention and key passages of play were conducted there.
MATHIEU FLAMINI
MID, Arsenal FC7.7
For all the stick Flamini gets, and rightly so, he’s done well in his last few appearances. Asked to fill Arteta’s role in the defensive midfield double pivot, his distribution is not as reliable as Arteta’s, though he’s done well to release possession more quickly in his recent appearances.
AARON RAMSEY
MID, Arsenal FC7.5
Ah, Aaron. Not as poor as his last couple outings, but there’s a real something left to be desired from the Welshman. Expected to be present defensively, Ramsey aided Flamini in shielding the back four sufficiently, but he’s not particularly dangerous going forward currently, leading fair questions to be asked about his place in the starting lineup.
ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN
MID, Arsenal FC8.3
MAN OF THE MATCH- Alexis scored the goal, but Oxlade-Chamberlain collapsed the right side of the Swansea defence all day with his tireless running. One of the more powerful runners on the ball in the league, an in-form Ox will win gluts of corners and test the opponent’s left back for the full 90.
SANTI CAZORLA
MID, Arsenal FC8.0
He was in a war today, and had a scary kick on his right leg at the edge of the box courtesy of Ashley Williams. Staggeringly good day of passing for the small Spaniard, notching a 97% success rate with two key passes. Hopefully a turnaround from recent form is in the cards for Cazorla, as he’ll be needed to right this sinking ship.
ALEXIS SANCHEZ
MID, Arsenal FC8.2
He’s a tireless monster who sniffs out the right position to be in at the right time, and his ability to finish has been searched for for some time at Arsenal. Unfortunate that an offensive player this good is on a team with a defensive foundation this poor. All that said, he gave the ball away far too much in shallow attacking positions today.
DANNY WELBECK
ST, Arsenal FC7.2
He needs a goal and he nearly had it today after a lovely bit of play in the box. Fabianski was equal to it and Welbeck’s drought continues. His speed and physicality usually makes more of an impact, but today was not up to standards.
THEO WALCOTT
MID, Arsenal FC7.0
Had a couple sniffs in the time he saw after relieving Ramsey, but he’s not back yet and pushing him into positions where he has to get a goal late on is so far from ideal it may be inadvisable.
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JACK WILSHERE
MID, Arsenal FC7.4
My preferred replacement to Aaron Ramsey because he’s an angry, angry player, Wilshere tried to spark a couple attacks late, though a great deal of time was spent screaming at referee Phil Dowd who rather deserved it.
YAYA SANOGO
ST, Arsenal FC7
He got on for about five minutes for the sole purpose of creating havoc with his height in the box. He did it, though not to any real effect. Bit weird to think we had more points with Giroud and Sanogo than Welbeck and Alexis. Oh, what a defence can do.
