Arsenal put in a slightly improved performance against Manchester City on Thursday night, but ended with exactly the same result as at the weekend.
Arsene Wenger’s side lost 3-0 again, and City cut open their defence with ease. Arsenal did create a few good chances, including winning a penalty, but overall they were a class below their opponents.
Here are our individual ratings:
2Midfield
Granit Xhaka 2.5
Like Koscielny, Xhaka had a good game if you only look at his stats.
He completed the most passes in the Arsenal team, as well as the most in the attacking third.
He made more ball recoveries than anyone except Gundogan, and won the most tackles.
The reality, however, is that he was partly at fault for two of the goals with his positioning.
Aaron Ramsey 5
Ramsey was probably Arsenal’s best performer on the night.
Despite being surrounded by error-prone players he actually managed to look decent.
His shot from Bellerin’s inaccurate cutback was impressively taken, and he almost certainly would’ve scored with a better pass.
You could see why the team miss him when he’s out.
Mesut Özil 3
Özil’s poor run of form continued on Thursday night.
In fairness, it’s hard for him to show his best when the players around him are playing so badly.
Also, he made as more chances than anyone else on the pitch, matched only by De Bruyne.
Still, this was another game where he looked a shadow of the player he was just a few weeks ago.
Next, forwards…