Arsenal fans will be disappointed with a losing start under new manager, Unai Emery, but the opening game against Manchester City was always going to be tough.
Here’s how the players from both the teams fared in the first big game of the 2018/19 season.
Arsenal Player Ratings:
Petr Cech: 6
Had a few nervy moments and almost ended up scoring an own goal. And although he made some nice saves, he would feel he could have done better with Sterling’s opener. With Leno breathing down his neck, the Czech legend cannot afford many more performances like this.
Hector Bellerin: 4
After his incredible debut season in the Premier League, the hype around the Spaniard has slowly faded away and it because of performances like these. He was exploited by the Manchester City attackers all afternoon. Should not have let Sterling in so easily for the opener.
Shkodran Mustafi: 4.5
He looked very suspect with the ball at his feet and also had a hard time with the pace and directness of the Manchester City front line. Gets a little better rating than Bellerin because of a couple of important challenges.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 6
Was the best of the Arsenal back four on the day but that is not saying much. He coped best with City’s forwards. Considering it was his Premier League debut for Arsenal, he will be expected to only get better.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles (off 35’): 5
Made a bright start but was unlucky to have to come off with an early injury.
Matteo Guendouzi: 5.5
Looks like he is going to be one of Emery’s pet projects. Although he was somewhat at fault for Sterling’s goal, he did not let that get to him and ended up having pretty decent performance in midfield.
Granit Xhaka (off 70’): 2
He had a bad day at the office. His lack of fitness showed in this game as he gave the ball in dangerous areas multiple times. Came off in the 70th minute but in all honesty, should have been brought off earlier.
Aaron Ramsey (off 54’): 5
Was deployed in a more attacking role than he is used to playing. Although he did not have the worst game, Emery will be expecting much more from him in the future.
Mesut Ozil: 3
Failed to deliver one more time. Tried to control the game but had a hard time finding his passing range. Arsenal will need the German wizard to return to his best by next week when they face London rivals, Chelsea.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 5.5
Did not see much of the ball, but whenever he had it he looked lively.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 5
Was a mere passenger at times as Arsenal struggled to create chances for him. He sent one of his chances well wide in the first half before finishing brilliantly with a chip over the goalkeeper’s head in the second only to see the offside flag go up.
Substitutes
Stephan Lichtsteiner (on 35’): 5
Had to play out of position at left-back after coming on for the injured Maitland-Niles. Played his role well but was at fault for City’s second.
Alexander Lacazette (on 54’): 6
Made an huge impact after coming on. Arsenal looked much livelier and much more likely to score with him in the line up. His performance would have given Emery selection headaches before next week’s Derby.
Lucas Torreira (on 70’): 5.5
Came on from Granit Xhaka and put on a much better performance than the Swiss midfielder.
Manchester City Player Ratings
Ederson: 7
The City goalkeeper is one of the best with the ball at his feet and it showed in the game. He was cool as a cucumber when he had the ball and his distribution was also pretty good. Even made a decent save to deny Bellerin.
Kyle Walker: 7
The Englishman returned to his favoured right back position after playing in a back three for England at the World Cup took no time to settle him. His combination of pace and strength make him perfect for this City team.
Aymeric Laporte: 7
Must have been surprised to be picked over Kompany and Otamendi but that did not show in his performance. Put in a neat and tidy display.
John Stones: 7.5
The English defender followed up his impressive World Cup with an amazing performance against The Gunners. Did brilliantly to break up attacks whenever Arsenal looked a little dangerous. Put in a class display at centre-back much more advanced than his years.
Benjamin Mendy: 6
He is a terrific attacker but his weakness in defence will remain a concern for City throughout the season. Had a couple of bad moments at the back but made up for it with a great assist to Bernardo Silva for City’s second goal.
Fernandinho: 7
The captain on the day put on a great display at midfield, keeping things tidy and running in the middle of the park and breaking up Arsenal’s occasional attacks.
Ilkay Gundogan: 5
Failed to be a huge influence on the game. Had a particularly sloppy second half when he gave the ball away cheaply a couple of times. Pep will be expecting more from him in the next games.
Riyad Mahrez (off 60’): 6.5
Had a nice if not spectacular League debut for the champions. Was a threat to Arsenal before making way for De Bruyne in the 60th minute. City fans will be looking forward to seeing much more of him this season
Bernardo Silva: 7.5
Put in a good display and was rewarded with a goal when he made a dangerous run into the box to get on the end of Mendy’s beautiful cutback. Was influential all afternoon and will be looking to force his way into Guardiola’s first team plans this season.
Raheem Sterling (off 87’): 8.5
He was quite clearly the best player on the pitch today. Scored a brilliant opening goal and was a danger throughout the game. After receiving criticism for his performances at the World Cup, this was a great display to shut up his detractors.
Sergio Aguero (off 79’): 6.5
Forgot to put on his scoring boots as he let easy chances go begging. Will put them away though as the season progresses and he finds his touch. His link up play with the other City players was great all afternoon.
Substitutes:
Kevin De Bruyne (on 60’): 6.5
Did not have a great deal of time but did add a different dimension to City’s attack as soon as he came on. Was unlucky to receive a yellow card.
Gabriel Jesus (on 79’): N/A
Leroy Sane (on 87’): N/A
0 votes
title: “Arsenal 0 2 Manchester City Player Ratings” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-13” author: “Claudia Soucy”
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring by dancing past two Arsenal defenders before unleashing a thunderous shot that flew past Petr Cech. The scoreline remained the same until Bernardo Silva’s exquisite finish in the second half from Mendy’s pass, which sealed the game for Citizens.
Let us look at how each team’s players fared in the match.
Arsenal:
Petr Cech
He made a couple of great saves in the first half and produced an incredible one-on-one save against Sergio Aguero’s shot in the second half.
Besides that his passing was horrendous, he almost scored into his own goal and also reacted late to Sterling’s goal.
Rating - 6
Hector Bellerin
He failed to deal with Benjamin Mendy who was the creator of both the goals, had a good chance to level the game in the first half but hit straight to Ederson who saved it without any trouble.
Rating - 5
Shkodran Mustafi
He handled Aguero well but lacked pace at times and also left too much space in front for Sterling’s goal, who easily placed his shot away from the defence.
Rating - 5.5
Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Manchester City almost scored from a free kick that resulted because of a tactical foul committed by Sokratis. Besides that, he made some good tackles and looked fine.
Rating - 6
Ainsley Maitland-Niles
He got a daunting task to control Riyad Mahrez and Kyle Walker, the youngster was forced to be substituted in the first half due to injury while stopping Kyle Walker’s bursting run.
Rating - 5
Matteo Guendouzi
He looked promising and although he made some errors while passing, his willingness to go forward and make himself available during difficult positions for teammates impressed the fans a lot.
Rating - 7
Granit Xhaka
Went missing completely out powered by the City’s midfield, booked for a poor challenge in the second half and eventually made way for Torreira later on.
Rating - 4.5
Mesut Ozil
A disappointing performance for his standards failed to find the players in the attacking third constantly, looked nowhere near his usual best.
Rating - 5
Aaron Ramsey
He [layed a little further up the pitch than expected. Ramsey attacked the opponents and created space between the defenders; he was impressive in the game but earned very little help from his teammates.
Rating - 6.5
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
The Armenian had done little and it was not his day. He had a couple of opportunities but delayed his shots and that was enough for the City’s defence to clear away the danger.
Rating - 5
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
He almost scored a goal but disallowed due to offside, and also did not get the service needed to deliver for his team.
Rating - 6
Substitute
Stephan Lichtsteiner (for Maitland-Niles 35)
He did well in an unfamiliar position due to injury for Maitland-Niles but was one of the players responsible for Silva’s goal.
Rating - 6
Alexandre Lacazette (for Ramsey 54)
He almost scored from the moment he entered into the pitch, but could not get his team a point.
.Rating - 6
Lucas Torreira (for Xhaka 70)
The game had almost has gone away from Arsenal’s hands when he was introduced but he managed to show glimpses of his talent.
Rating - 6
Manchester City
Ederson
Arsenal had not tested him much, and he made a couple of easy saves. In one situation, he almost would have conceded if not for the miscommunication between Lacazette and Ozil.
Rating - 6
Kyle Walker
Walker looked like Usain Bolt during the first half. He burst past Maitland-Niles and eventually got him out of the game. A complete right back package at his best.
Rating - 8
John Stones
He put up a good performance while looking cool and composed. He also dealt with the danger comfortably, a rock solid performance.
Rating - 8
Aymeric Laporte
Laporte made some errors in the first half but settled well into the City’s flow well after that.
Rating - 7
Benjamin Mendy
Although he looked rusty while defending, he provided the City with an attacking option up front and grabbed two assists in the match.
Rating - 7
Ilkay Gundogan
He was arguably the bad performer of the day for the City as he looked sloppy at times in the midfield, and his shot was blocked by Aguero later in the second half.
Rating - 6
Fernandinho
He completely owned the midfield, outclassing the opponents, his pressing and positioning while off the ball and passing on the ball were impressive.
Rating - 8
Riyad Mahrez
It was only his first match but seemed to start understanding Guardiola’s style of play very much; he forced Cech to save from a free kick in the first half, overall a decent debut.
Rating - 7
Bernardo Silva
Silva looked quiet in the first half but produced a moment of brilliance in the second period with a sublime finish with his first touch.
Rating - 8
Raheem Sterling
Sterling opened the scoring for the City by skipping past Arsenal’s defenders from left and scoring a beautiful goal. He linked up well with his teammates and surely more to come from this player the rest of the season.
Rating - 9
Sergio Aguero
He made all the efforts as usual but only ended up without a goal for himself. He had a decent opportunity one-on-one with Cech, but it was saved by the keeper. It would have been a goal had he squared it for De Bruyne.
Rating - 7
Substitutes
Kevin De Bruyne (for Mahrez 60)
He put up a decent display and possessed an attacking threat to the opponent.
Rating - 7
Gabriel Jesus (for Aguero 79)
N/A
Leroy Sane (for Sterling 87)
N/A
0 votes
