Arsenal have now lost their third game in a row in the new Premier League season, the latest one coming against Manchester City.
City ran riot against a 10-man Gunners side beating them 5-0 at the Etihad. And now the North London side are likely go into the international break as one of the bottom three sides.
Much to everyone’s surprise, Arsenal started the match on the front foot but were quickly dismantled by Gundogan’s goal in the 7th minute. And then everything fell apart as soon as Granit Xhaka was shown a red card.
Almost every pundit had expected Arsenal to lose on Saturday but the way Manchester City toyed with the London outfit, Mikel Arteta surely has some thinking to do in the next two weeks.
Arsenal player ratings vs Manchester City:
Bernd Leno: 6.2/10
Leno did concede five goals but in all honesty, he also made some pretty decent saves throughout the match. Had it not been for him, the scoreline might have been even more embarrassing.
Cedric Soares: 4.5/10
Soares’s error led to the second goal for Manchester City and even overall the right-back had a really poor outing. He made only 16 passes all throughout the game out of which only 7 found their destination.
Calum Chambers: 6/10
Mikel Arteta had packed up his defensive line, using three central defenders just to stop Manchester City from taking control in the final third. But this only led to more chaos as the Arsenal defenders did not know whom to mark. Calum Chambers was perhaps the biggest victim of this.
Arsenal have lost their first three league games for the first time in 67 years 😳 pic.twitter.com/zv1KEM125o
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) August 28, 2021
Rob Holding: 6.5/10
Rob Holding had a pretty decent outing but when his defensive partners were falling like nine pins, there’s very little the 25-year-old could have done to stop Torres and co.
Sead Kolasinac: 5/10
With Ben White and Gabriel out, Kolsinac got the chance to start in central defence and after his performance, on Saturday we are more than certain that Mikel Arteta will not be using him in that role any time soon.
Kieran Tierney: 4.5/10
The left-back is generally very reliable for Arsenal but on Saturday he was perhaps one of the weakest links in the side with a passing accuracy rate of just 50%. He made only 12 passes in the match out of which three were in his own half.
xG map for Man City – Arsenal
sickos.png pic.twitter.com/je3zOUibsK
— Caley Graphics (@Caley_graphics) August 28, 2021
Granit Xhaka: 4/10
Just when the Arsenal fans were once again trying to put their faith in him, Granit Xhaka pushed his side into a hole. His rash challenge in the first half saw him pick up a straight red and follow his dismissal, there was no way back for the visiting side.
Martin Odegaard: 6/10
The playmaker hardly helped out in defensive situations but he has been brought in, to contribute in the attacking areas. But to his dismay, Arsenal hardly had the ball in the opposition half. The former Real Madrid man managed only 13 accurate passes without attempting even a single shot on target.
Emile Smith Rowe: 7/10
He was one of the rare bright sparks for Arsenal on Saturday as he showed tremendous energy in closing down the Manchester City players. His work rate was really commendable as he made three clearances. But once Xhaka was sent off, Smith Rowe was busy plugging the holes in his own him instead of joining in attack.
Bukayo Saka: 6/10
Saka could manage only 45 minutes on the match as he was the one who was sacrificed since Mikel Arteta wanted to bring in Elneny to fill up the hole in midfield left behind by Granit Xhaka. In the first half, Saka managed five accurate passes and managed one shot on target(Arsenal’s only one during the match).
Aubameyang: 5.5/10
The Gabon international is still coming up to speed after recovering from COVID and he could only manage 60 minutes on the pitch, to be replaced by Lacazette. He did not do anything noteworthy during his stay on the field.
Substitutions:
Elneny: 5.5/10
Came on as the midfield partner to Odegaard and his 45 minutes on the pitch mostly constituted on chasing the Manchester City playmakers and forwards.
