Premiership leaders Arsenal suffered their biggest defeat against lower-league opposition in 56 years on Tuesday night as the Gunners were thrashed 3-0 by Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
Arsene Wenger made eight changes to the side that started Saturday’s 2-1 win over Everton. And his inexperienced team was thoroughly outplayed as the North London outfit were dumped out of the Capital One Cup in round four.
CaughtOffside’s predicted XI was almost 100% correct, but we went with Theo Walcott up front, while Wenger opted for Olivier Giroud.
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Here’s how each of Wenger’s men rated, according to leading Gunners fan blog All Arsenal.
Petr Cech – 5/10
All Arsenal said: “The Czech international wasn’t at fault for any of the goals, but he didn’t pull off any spectacular saves either. Nothing he could really do, unless you want to blame him for not organising his defence better.”
Mathieu Debuchy – 1/10
All Arsenal said: “The Frenchman was the most infuriating player on the pitch tonight, and really looked like he just didn’t want to be there. He rarely got beyond a gentle jog, he was poor going forward, was lazy defensively, and really doesn’t seem to have a future at the club.
“His lethargy was a large part of the reason we conceded for the first goal, and he seemed to get worse as the game went on.”
Calum Chambers – 2/10
All Arsenal said: “The youngster really looks out of his depth at times, and gets bullied off the ball far too easily for a defender of his size. His positioning was poor during set pieces, and he needs to get tighter to his man.”
Per Mertesacker – 2/10
All Arsenal said: “His performance was fairly poor, but the worst thing about his display was his lack of leadership. He was the captain, and yet he did nothing to rally the troops. He didn’t marshal his players during set pieces, and we were punished for it.”
Kieran Gibbs – 3/10
All Arsenal said: “One of the better players on the pitch, and that’s really not saying much. He did his job for the most part, but like the rest of the team looked totally out of ideas going forward.”
Mathieu Flamini – 1.5/10
All Arsenal said: “Flamini was another player who looked like he had no interest in being on the field, and his lazy defending means he was just as culpable for the first goal.”
Glen Kamara – 2/10
All Arsenal said: “The young Finnish midfielder looked way out of his depth, and was dominated in midfield. He also was far too timid with the ball, often slowing down our momentum by opting to pass back or play the simple ball sideways. Put in a couple of good challenges, but was rightfully substituted.”
Kamara was replaced by Krystian Bielik (3.5/10) on 60 minutes.
All Arsenal said: “The Polish star was decent when he came on, but was never likely to make anything happen.”
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – N/A
Lasted less than five minutes before pulling up with a tight hamstring, which prompted Wenger to make a very early substitution. Theo Walcott (N/A) replaced the Ox, but he too picked up an injury – a problem with his calf – and was taken off midway through the first half, making way for Ismael Bennacer (2.5/10).
All Arsenal said: “[Bennacer] to make things happen, but was bullied out of possession far too easily.”
Alex Iwobi – 2/10
All Arsenal said: “Barely had an impact on the game, despite plenty of effort. He didn’t get a huge amount of service, but often came too deep to get the ball.”
Joel Campbell – 2.5/10
All Arsenal said: “Campbell was arguably the hardest working player on the pitch, and was constantly trying to start an attack and get the ball forward. He also showed a real lack of quality though, with his crossing in particular absolutely appalling.”
Olivier Giroud -1.5/10
All Arsenal said: “The Frenchman was practically a ghost, but in his defence his service was even more non existent.”
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