Arsenal 1-2 Southampton: Player Ratings For League Cup Defeat, With Young Defenders Impressive, But David Ospina Disappointing

CaughtOffside rates the Arsenal players for their performances against Southampton…

Arsenal 1-2 Southampton – A stunning strike from Nathaniel Clyne was enough to see Southampton past a young Arsenal side in the third round of the Capital One Cup.

SEE ALSO:
Nathan Clyne Goal – watch wonder-striker from defender
Dusan Tadic Penalty – watch Southampton level the scores
Alexis Sanchez Free-Kick – watch Arsenal take the lead

Alexis Sanchez, one of the few experienced names in Arsene Wenger’s team, put the Gunners ahead with an excellent free-kick, only for Dusan Tadic’s penalty to draw the Saints level. Clyne then grabbed what proved to be the winner five minutes before half-time.

Read the full Arsenal ratings below:

GK) David Ospina – 5

An uninspiring debut from the Colombian, who will think he could have done more with Clyne’s thunderous strike.

RB) Hector Bellerin – 7

An impressive performer from the teenager, who was much more settle in this game than he was against Dortmund.

LB) Francis Coquelin – 5

Played out of position with Monreal injured and Gibbs not risked. You could certainly tell he wasn’t fully comfortable.

CB) Isaac Hayden – 7

A very impressive performance from the young defender. Expect him to get his chance in the Premier League sometime soon.

CB) Calum Chambers – 6

Ironically the most experienced and well-established member of the Arsenal back-four, he was solid on the night.

CM) Abou Diaby – 7

A positive return from injury from Diaby, who thankfully got through 67 minutes unscathed.

CM) Jack Wilshere – 7

Led the midfield well, getting hold of the ball and driving forward, but lacked the support around him. Booked late on after a frustrated tackle.

AM) Tomas Rosicky – 5

Gave away the penalty for Southampton’s first goal, and was generally uninspiring throughout the night.

RW) Alexis Sanchez – 8

Was the dominant player in the game during the early stages, and scored with a stunning free-kick early on.

LW) Joel Campbell – 5

Finally had his chance to shine from the start, but disappointed and struggled to get involved before being replaced.

ST) Lukas Podolski – 5

Another disappointing performance from the Arsenal forward, who will be lucky to survive at the club beyond January.

Manager: Arsene Wenger – 5

Set his team up well enough, and was simply beaten by a stronger team on the night. It was a strange decision to move Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to right-back late on.

Subs:

1) Santi Cazorla – 6 – Offered more going forward than Diaby, and helped lead a late Arsenal charge.

2) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5 – Moved to right-back when Akpom came on, strange for a player that likes to go forward.

3) Chuba Akpom – 4 – Had little time to make an impact.

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