CaughtOffside rates the Arsenal players for their performances against Borussia Dortmund…
Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Arsenal – Arsenal were outclassed by their German opponents as goals from Ciro Immobile and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw the Bundesliga side pick up a comfortable victory.
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Arsenal’s inexperienced defence, which included Champions League debutant Hector Bellerin, was sorely exposed. And Gunners fans will no doubt be desperate to see their team enter the transfer market come January:
Read the full Arsenal ratings below:
GK) Wojicech Szczesny – 7
Made several fine saves and had no chance with the brilliantly taken opening goal. Came out too quickly for the second.
RB) Hector Bellerin – 4
Harsh for the teenager to shoulder too much blame, but his inexperience was exposed against Dortmund’s quality.
LB) Kieran Gibbs – 5
Was rushed back from injury to play, and struggled against Dortmund’s pace in attack.
CB) Per Mertesacker – 6
Also struggled with Dortmund’s pace, but was arguably the pick of Arsenal’s shaky back-line. Won plenty of headers.
CB) Laurent Koscielny – 5
Not strong enough against the players he was meant to be marking. Immobile went past him as if he wasn’t there.
DM) Mikel Arteta – 5
A harsh return from injury for the Gunners captain who was overwhelmed in midfield for much of the night.
CM) Jack Wilshere – 7
Arsenal’s best player, he worked tirelessly and troubled the home side with his pace and clever footwork.
CM) Aaron Ramsey – 4
Marked out of the game by Kehl and Bender, but did create his teams best chance for Welbeck.
RW) Alexis Sanchez – 6
Began brightly, but faded as Dortmund’s dominance grew. Never stopped running and made a fantastic tackle late on.
LW) Mesut Ozil – 3
Another horrific showing from the German who also picked up a needless booking for a miss timed challenge.
ST) Danny Welbeck – 5
Wasted two glorious opportunities, but did at least get in the position to have the chance.
Manager: Arsene Wenger – 5
His lack of defensive options was exposed, while he needs to do something about the form of Ozil.
Subs:
1) Santi Cazorla – 5 – Struggled to get involved after replacing Ramsey
2) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6 – Pace caused some problems but came on too late to make a real difference.
3) Lukas Podolski – 4 – Did little after coming on.