Perhaps the scoreline of 5-1 on aggregate flatters Barcelona but no one really thought Arsenal were going to win.
Mohamed Elneny got his first goal for Arsenal and his first in the Champions League and Alex Iwobi impressed. However, even this wasn’t enough to make up the 2-0 hangover we had from the first leg at the Emirates and, as predicted, the gap only widened.
We didn’t play badly, which is perhaps more disturbing as it shows the huge difference in quality in the two teams.
David Ospina – 5
The goalkeeper is actually a pretty decent shot-stopper. He made an amazing save from Messi when the forward was one-on-one in the first half but then let in Neymar’s minutes later. He continued to stop shots but Barcelona were just too good.
Hector Bellerin – 5
The right-back was constantly letting Neymar get the wrong side of him, which led to him scoring the first goal. Although he was positionally better in the second half, there was no stopping the Catalan strike force.
Laurent Koscielny – 6
Kos started the match fresh back from injury and in the first half, like most of the defence, appeared a little off. However, in the second half he was a lot better and luckily we had his speed to get back and cover. Otherwise the scoreline could have been even more embarrassing.
Gabriel – 5
The centre-back wasn’t quite as terrible as in recent matches but was still a little strange in his positioning, especially in the first half.
Nacho Monreal – 6
One of our most reliable players, the Spaniard gave everything and was making vital interceptions even towards the end.
Mathieu Flamini – 4
The midfielder had to be subbed off with a suspected hamstring injury just before half time. However, during his short time on the pitch he managed to essentially mount a player and get yellow carded.
Mohamed Elneny – 10
Our new boy scored his first goal for the club at Camp Nou. Therefore, he deserves a 10.
Mesut Ozil – 6.5
The playmaker seemed to be on a mission in the first half and I was confident we would see his usual magic and even a goal but as the match wore on he looked more and more dejected.
Alexis Sanchez – 4.5
The forward started brightly and had our best chance of the first half. However, his inability to lay off the ball at the right moment, as well as his reluctance to track back is getting irritating. As is his apparent immunity from getting subbed.
Alex Iwobi – 7
The forward was our bright spark and considering he’s only 19, he’s hugely exciting to watch. Definitely one to watch.
Danny Welbeck – 5.5
The striker was a little sloppy and should have done better with at least one chance he had. If we had put away half the chances we had over the two legs, we would have had a chance.
SUBS
Francis Coquelin – 4.5
Definitely not at his best right now.
Theo Walcott – 4
He maybe touched the ball twice?
Olivier Giroud – 4.5
When he wasn’t on the pitch we missed him, when he was he didn’t do much.