Our friends at All Arsenal have rated the Arsenal players for their performances in the 1-1 draw with Norwich, do you agree with their ratings?
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It’s more dropped points today, and we’ve lost ground on Manchester City yet again. Manchester United and Leicester City also drew earlier today, so this was a chance for us to go joint top.
It was a poor performance against Norwich, but the real talking points from the game will be injuries to key players.
Here’s how we rate the Arsenal players following our 1-1 draw against Norwich:
GK) Petr Cech – 7.0
One phenomenal save at 1-1 kept us in the game, and without the Czech international things could have been much worse. Nothing he could do for the goal.
RB) Hector Bellerin – 6.0
His end product was poor today, and he wasted a number of excellent opportunities to whip the ball in and pick out a teammate.
LB) Nacho Monreal – 6.0
Solid defensively, but his attacking contributions were really poor. He got into some excellent crossing positions, but much like Bellerin, consistently failed to deliver decent balls into the box.
CB) Per Mertesacker – 6.0
Caught for pace a couple of times, and should have done more to martial the back line on several occasions – including for the goal.
CB) Laurent Koscielny – N/A
Barely had anything to do in the opening few minutes, but unfortunately pulled up with what looked like a hip injury and was taken off after nine minutes.
Substitute: Gabriel Paulista – 5.5
At fault for the goal, with his poor positioning allowing Lewis Grabban to equalise just before half time. He did make one superb match saving clearance though.
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DM) Mathieu Flamini – 5.5
Flamini’s performances continue to show how much we miss Francis Coquelin, as he really doesn’t offer enough protection to the back four. He just doesn’t have the legs to get around the pitch as much as he needs to.
CM) Santi Cazorla – 6.5
The Spaniard was solid in midfield, but without Coquelin by his side we are defensively exposed. He was rather harshly booked for diving, and unfortunately wasn’t able to really impact the game.
CAM) Mesut Özil – 7.5
Yet again the German was far and away the best player on the pitch, but he needed the rest of the team to rise to his level.
RAM) Aaron Ramsey – 6.0
A fairly poor afternoon from the Welshman, who struggled to really impose himself on the game against Norwich. Eventually replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Substitute: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6.5
One of the bright sparks upon his introduction, putting some good crosses into the box and taking on players whenever possible. We’ll be looking to him to replace Alexis Sanchez in the coming weeks.
LAM) Alexis Sanchez – 7.5
Excellent before he went off, providing the assist for Mesut Özil’s goal with an excellent pass. Limped off with a hamstring injury though, which could really destroy our season.
Substitute: Joel Campbell – 5.5
Constantly on the ball and looking to make something happen when he came on, but more often than not he simply lost the ball. He’s a fighter, but he’s just not Arsenal quality.
ST) Olivier Giroud – 6.0
The Frenchman looked really sluggish against Norwich, and was getting incredibly frustrated with the lack of proper service. His frustration’s meant he was getting into good positions less, and he really never looked like scoring.