So it seems Arsenal can’t do it on a rainy Tuesday night in London, especially after going down 2-0 in first 15 minutes.

Arsenal yet, again fell victim to an awful start to the match but this time there was no lucky comeback. In the round before this one we managed a narrow escape with a late penalty, but not against Watford, on the last day of January, in last match before our trip to (Champions-elect) Chelsea.

It’s all doom and gloom and I’m sorry, my ratings won’t be any better. I waited to cool down but, eff it, I didn’t.

Petr Čech – 5.5

A rather high rating for Čech in goal even though he conceded two goals. He couldn’t do much about either of them. He was okay other than that, made some decent saves. No penalty conceded this time around as well, yay.

Gabriel – 3

I’m always up for giving chances, not judging and not being too critical but oh my god, Gabriel made me angry – simply by not being Bellerin. Sure, he went forward and joined in with attacks, especially during the second half, but what was the point? He can’t cross. He can’t shoot. He doesn’t get close to goal as Hector does. And he wasn’t good defensively either, getting a yellow card early in the match which made him be even less effective in defence.

Shkodran Mustafi – 4

I’m sorry, Shkodran, for your first loss in Arsenal shirt. I thought it would be on Saturday perhaps, but alas, Arsenal once again surprised us all. Let’s not pretend our dear German in defence was innocent – he had to do better for their second goal. He looked uncomfortable in the whole first half, like the rest of the team. There wasn’t as much work to do in second so that was better, but that’s all.

Laurent Koscielny – 5.5

I’m clutching at straws here to give someone a rating bigger than 5, so Kos is one of the few lucky ones, simply because he didn’t do anything wrong. He wasn’t as good as we know he can be, just like the rest of his teammates, and he should have done better and woken up sooner in the match.

Nacho Monreal – 5

It’s been four years since we signed Nacho and I like to think we made him a better player. Against Watford, again, a gloomy performance in tune with the rest of the team but he was at least trying to attack. He created several chances and even got a chance to score. Yes, he dived a little bit in first half, I won’t pretend it didn’t happen. But, he had a decent match, and if we had won, his rating would be higher.

Francis Coquelin – 3

Much like for Gabriel, I’m all for giving Coq a chance and letting him play to show that he’s “good enough”. I mostly like his passion (lol) but against Watford, he was frustrating. He couldn’t do anything right, his passes were sloppy, his tackles were poor, and, to top it all, I blame him for our second goal – he should have stopped Capoue sooner. I miss Xhaka. But he’d probably have got sent off anyway.

Aaron Ramsey – 3

I would rather not give Aaron any rating. He was taken off with an injury early in the match and didn’t look too up for it during the little time he got (rumours are he had hamstring problems since Friday). I feel sorry for him and sincerely hope he doesn’t open his social media accounts. People are awful.

Alex Iwobi – 6

It was nice when Iwobi decided to show up for the second half. He was missing during whole first 45 minutes, struggling to get simple passes right or to create anything whatsoever. The second half was a great performance from him on the wing, until he was switched into the middle. He scored our only goal in his own way. It’s just a shame we couldn’t build on it and add two more. He gets my MOTM only because of the goal.

Mesut Özil – 3.5

Could it be that Mesut was more frustrated with his teammates than I was? He looked so angry at times, and it was reflected in his game. A very poor performance although he was much better in second half than first. Still, not good enough. His corners were okay, I guess.

Alexis Sanchez – 5

Woke up in second half from the collective nap during first and decided to hog the ball and try to beat Watford himself. It’s the Alexis we know and love, most of the time. I was really angry at him when he didn’t pass and decided to dribble around Watford’s defenders, but, he assisted Iwobi, and was our main man up front, trying to actually DO something in second half. That’s more than most.

Olivier Giroud – 3

Giroud got only 45 minutes and many would say it was 45 minutes too much. He was poor, like really poor. But, I have to be honest, he was isolated during whole first half because of our non-existent midfield. When he did get the ball, Watford’s defenders were on his back and he didn’t get any help from the referee. A half to forget for him, and I can’t help but  think if he’d be much more useful coming off from bench around the hour mark.


Alex Oxlade Chamberlain – 5.5

The Ox replaced Ramsey in first half and blended right in with the rest of the team. He got a lot better in second half and was one of our best performers – again. Good going forward, creating chances, adding some good long balls, but he also made some poor passes. It looked like he got a knock in second half and he was limping for a while but looked better as time went by. Hopefully he will be ready for Chelsea as we are out of midfielders.

Theo Walcott – 5

I kinda hoped Theo would get a start but oh well – he got a full 45 minutes and he didn’t use them. He should have scored early in the second half. That chance, he put it straight at Gomes. COME ON, everyone else buries that. He had a few other chances as well. Not a good half for Theo. His 100th Arsenal goal will have to be the winner against Chelsea, I guess.

Lucas Perez – 5.5

Tempted to give Lucas a 6 because I just love the man. He neeearly scored but his powerful shot hit the woodwork instead of the net and the ball bounced away. He was okay besides that. Needs to get more minutes.