Player ratings are fun and cool. They are even more fun after a great win at the North London Derby. We decided to double and do duel ratings this week.
Bernd Leno – AG: 6 | AL: 6
Aidan: The problem with Arsenal’s performance today is that Leno really had nothing to do. He went the wrong way in Kane’s late foul.
Aaron: It is difficult to blame him for the goal, since he only saw him late. He realized that several times, instead of making a pass and maybe putting a teammate under pressure, he climbed Route 1 to the field.
Cedric Soares – AG: 5 | AL: 6
Aidan: Very beaten in preparation for Lamela’s goal. His cross was not good, and he was far behind in the first half. He hit the crossbar, but this past week has shown that Bellerín is clearly the best option.
Aaron: I thought he was a little better with the ball than he normally is. You got what you expected from him, without atrocious mistakes. Yes, he may have been defeated in the race for the goal, but sometimes it does, you know?
David Luiz – AG: 7 | AL: 8
Aidan: When he is good, he is very good. You didn’t miss your foot today. Good variety in its passage through the back.
Aaron: Solid and error-free correspondence. Even, strangely enough, he met the ball in the Tottenham area and helped to generate some half chances. You could see that he was a vocal leader at the rear today too.
Gabriel – AG: 8 | AL: 9
Aidan: He and David Luiz had very little to do until the final ten minutes or so, but Gabriel, as his compatriot, was excellent. Bright block at the end.
Aaron: I’m not sure if he was beaten up once today. Back to the level of the beginning of the season that made me think that he could be a true CB star in training. And yes, he saved the victory with his head block.
Kieran Tierney – AG: 9 | AL: 9
Aidan: He absolutely dominated the left side, saw Lamela sent off and prepared Ødegaard’s goal. He is fantastic.
Aaron: Next to Bukayo Saka, the most important player of the club at the moment. Arsenal is a different side, with him attacking from the left. Matt Doherty will have nightmares about how Tierney toasted him for Arsenal’s first goal.
Thomas Partey – AG: 6.5 | AL: 5
Aidan: That was going to be bigger until the final fifteen minutes, when he gave the ball a few times carelessly and gave up on a stupid free kick, from which Kane hit the post. He is clearly a class above any other in Arsenal’s midfield, but I think he is clearly not in shape either. Big deal in preparing for the first half of the ESR shot as well. Also, please stop him from shooting.
Aaron: I thought he had a very pedestrian game, at least by his own standards. It certainly did not stand out in the same way as at other times this season. Last fifteen minutes of game absolutely horrible.
Granit Xhaka – AG: 7 | AL: 8
Aidan: We know your limitations. Sometimes it was painful to see him step back and add an extra touch after a touchdown by Partey, Ødegaard and Smith Rowe. But he was also very good, again. 94% of passes in midfield, 4/5 in long balls, helped to establish control of Arsenal.
Aaron: One of the best games of the Xhaka season. He took Thomas Partey’s day off, not his usual strength in midfield. He had some fantastic defensive coverings and strong tackles. The slip he applied to Matt Doherty at the end of the second half was official and didactic. And props to Granit for not letting Erik Lamela urge him to do something stupid.
Bukayo Saka – AG: 7 | AL: 6.5
Aidan: I hope your injury is not bad. He was brilliant and creative in the first half, although Cédric’s support is clearly not as good for him as it is for Bellerín.
Aaron: Obviously, he didn’t have much time to do his thing because of the injury. I thought he was a little more hesitant to face his man than usual, but he was still involved in his productive passing combinations. Perhaps the Premier League referees will someday begin to protect you as the star you are; he suffered dirt twice today.
Martin Ødegaard – AG: 8 AL: 9
Aidan: His best game for Arsenal. 96.6% of passes, a beautiful one-touch play, created two chances and scored a goal. 3 tackles too; his work pace is great, he vibrates and his overall game was very, very good. I want Arsenal to stay with him.
Aaron: There is not much more to add. I was skeptical of Arsenal’s ability to make it work with him and Emile Smith Rowe on the pitch together (because the Leeds game aside, the lineup hadn’t worked out very well), but it worked today. He has a sixth sense of knowing when to move the ball quickly and when to slow down the game. Underestimated counterbalance and ball retriever.
Emile Smith Rowe – AG: 9 | AL: 9
Aidan: If that first half of the shot had happened, I would have gone to the city. A remarkable game, dominated, with Tierney, from the left side. It created some great chances for Lacazette (more on that in a minute), 4 key passes with 97% passes are excellent, and he has such a good relationship with other Arsenal players. He hadn’t been at his best on the left before tonight, but this was an exceptional overall performance.
Aaron: Great to see the ESR back for that. After looking so bright in January, when he was first placed in the lineup, he started to slow down and look a little bit mosquito. It seems that the layoff for injury was exactly what he needed to get back on track. Along with Kieran Tierney, he absolutely ate Matt Doherty’s lunch on the left flank.
Alexandre Lacazette – AG: 5 | AL: 6
Aidan: It would not have started if Aubameyang had not been disciplined, and it is quite clear why. Better than before, in that he made some shots in open play, but it was the opposite of the three behind them. Although they were fast, creative and always on the move, Lacazette was clumsy and static. Arlo White never said a more truthful comment than “Lacazette doesn’t want to go after it”, and Arsenal missed it. In the second half, Arteta kept screaming at him. Good penalty, after a complete aerial shot on the Pépé pass. And a nutmeg 8 meters from the goal is absolute nonsense, even if Cédric ran and hit the bar.
Aaron: He worked as hard as he normally does when Arsenal did not have possession of the ball. It was particularly good in the first half, when he was showing up at the ends to unbalance Tottenham in the wider areas (but that left the middle empty at times). Converting penalties is a skill, and Lacazette has a lot of that. He must replace them with Aubameyang when both are in the field – their conversion rate is higher.
Nicolas Pépé – AG: 7 | AL: 8
Aidan: Very good as a substitute for Saka. It probably should have started when Aubameyang didn’t start, because it offers a threat from behind. Fantastic pass to Lacazette, he went straight and got good positions.
Aaron: Another appearance with an objective contribution to Foot. Look, we all selected him when he didn’t create or score goals, and now he’s doing just that. He has been one of Arsenal’s best and most dangerous strikers for two months. The pass he scored for Alexandre Lacazette was absolutely magnificent.
Willian – AG: 5 | AL: 4
Aidan: Why?
Aaron: I’m not saying that Willian is the only culprit, but Arsenal’s inability to enter and keep the ball to close the match is correlated with his introduction into the game.
Mohamed Elneny – AG: 6 | AL: 5
Aidan: Brought to close things up, he ran a lot as instructed, to try to help Arsenal regain control. I’m not sure if he really touched the ball.
Aaron: Definitely a player who played in this game.