[Player Ratings] Olympiakos 2-1 Arsenal: Rosicky & Meade Shine

Arsenal surrendered a 1-goal lead to lose 2-1 to Olympiakos on Tuesday night. The result means we finish second in Group B with Schalke staying top after drawing 1-1 at Montpellier.

While we walked away with no points, the performance was a lot better than i had anticipated in all honesty. The first half was very good, with Rosicky particularly impressive. His well-taken goal rounded off an excellent 45 minutes for the midfielder before he was subbed at half time as a precaution after 5 months out.

We certainly missed Tomas in the second period and predictably the Greeks got back in the game, albeit through a controversial equaliser. Olympiakos were awarded a corner even though replays showed Szczesny didn’t get a touch, with the ball actually rebounding off the post, and Maniatis was on hand to score after the ball bounced off Aaron Ramsey’s chest. The winner came less than 10 minutes later when sub Mitroglou fired home from the edge of the box.

So another lose but it was a decent shift from some of the players who played in difficult circumstances at a tough away ground. Here are my ratings from the game.

Arsenal Ratings

Szczesny – 6 – Couple of routine saves in the first half. Not at fault for the first but susceptible to a long shot once again as Mitroglou’s well hit effort snuck in the far post.

Jenkinson – 6 – Steady performance from Jenko, but fell asleep to allow Djebbour a free header and the striker should have scored from close range. Made a couple of rampaging runs down the right but little end product.

Vermaelen – 7 – Excellent defending at the front post denied the hosts a tap in early on but failed to keep his back four together as he pushed out from the corner, leaving his full backs behind and leaving a big hole for Maniatis to sneak into to equalise. Needs to improve his organisational skills in these situations, but otherwise good display from the skipper.

Squillaci – 6 – Surprisingly good in the first half but back to his old self in the second period. Booked for a clumsy challenge and was beaten high up the pitch on a few occasions. We’ve seen him play A LOT worse though.

Meade – 8 – Excellent, mature performance from the debutant. Did everything that was asked of him and more. Cleared his lines and kept things simple, a real talent and should be considered instead of Santos judging by this performance.

Ramsey – 4 – Oh dear. Completely fluffed a terrific chance to open the scoring in the first half, barely connecting with the ball when free 10 yards out. Made some poor decisions in the opposition box and lost possession countless times. Slightly unlucky for the equaliser with the ball bouncing off his chest in the area, but another very poor display from Rambo.

Coquelin – 6 – Made some silly fouls and was maybe lucky not to receive a second yellow but was full of running and put himself about in midfield. Still not the finished article by any stretch though and doesn’t look ready for regular first team action yet.

Rosicky – 8 – Great finish for the opener and pulled the strings in midfield during the first half. We’ve really missed his invention in the middle. He was subbed at half time as a precaution after being out for 5 months. Will be an important player for us if he can stay fit.

Chamberlain – 5 – Too quiet once again. Was involved in the build up to the goal but did very little else. Tried a few unnecessary flicks and tricks and really needs to up his game if he wants that £50k contract he’s after.

Gervinho – 5 – Looked lively early on and nice run set up Rosicky for the opener but on far too many occasions he missed the opportunity to pass or when he did pass, he failed to find his team mate. So frustrating to watch because he’s capable of good things.

Chamakh – 5 – Poor control let him down early on when he was through on goal twice. He got into good positions after some clever runs but his touch and passing let him down all night. Decent cross to set up Arshavin and he won a couple of headers but his general play is atrocious.

Subs:

Arshavin – 4 – Forced a decent save from Carroll with a fierce effort but can’t remember him doing anything else of note in the 45 minutes he was on the pitch. Completely un-interested.

Angha – N/A – Only on for last 8 minutes.

So we’re in the draw for the last 16 despite the defeat and could face the likes of Barcelona, PSG and Dortmund but could have got Real Madrid, AC Milan or Valencia/Bayern if we came top, so there are plenty of tough sides to face either way. West Brom up next in what is truly a must-win game.

What were your player ratings from the game? Get involved in the comments section.