Arsenal beat Olympiakos 2-1 at the Emirates last night but it was far from vintage Gunners on show, as the away side will feel unlucky to have walked away without at least a point after creating several chances throughout the game. Here are my player ratings:
Szczesny – 7 – Made a few important stops in the first half, could do very little for the goal.
Sagna – 7 – Left exposed on a few occasions but still put in his usual solid display
Song – 7.5 – A little shaky in the first half but was excellent in the second half showing composure to clear his lines.
Mertesacker – 6.5 – made some important blocks but i still worry about his lack of pace on the turn. Better attackers would have exploited it more.
Santos – 6.5 – Got forward and linked up well on occasion but still looks a little dodgy at the back. Typical Arsenal left back!
Rosicky – 6.5 – Strange game from Rosicky. At times he looked back to his best turning opponents and driving at the defence. Other times he would frustrate with misplaced passes.
Arteta – 6 – Quiet game from him. Did the simple things well but nothing spectacular. Got booked for silly foul after losing the ball.
Oxlade-Chamberlain – 8 – A star is born. Great confidence from the youngster to dribble into the box and slot home the opener on his Champions League debut. Our best player in the first half but was wrongly taken off early in the second. Looks to have more natural ability than Theo and should push him for a 1st team spot.
Frimpong – 6 – Ran his heart out but still jumps in to tackles without thinking sometimes and made a few loose passes.
Arshavin – 5 – Another poor display from the Russian. Tried to make things happen but nothing seems to work out for him at the minute.
Chamakh – 5 – Worked hard up front but created very little and his lay-offs and passes rarely found their targets.
Subs:
Ramsey – 7 – Worked tirelessly up and down the pitch and was unlucky not to be put through a couple of times. Looked to keep the ball better when he was on the pitch.
RVP – 5 – Hardly touched the ball really but got very little service as Arsenal were concentrating on defending their lead.
Gibbs – On too late for rating.
