Arsenal lost 2-1 to Manchester United on Sunday, but the very young and inexperienced team can mostly hold their heads high after a fighting performance.
United fielded a near full strength side against the likes of 18-year-old Reiss Nelson, recent academy graduate Ainsley Maitland-Niles and debutant Konstantinos Mavropanos. It was always going to be an uphill battle, and so it proved with Paul Pogba’s early goal.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, one of few experienced players, made his return from injury. He ended up grabbing an equaliser, and it was all the team deserved at the time. Unfortunately he then went off, rested for Thursday. United took back the momentum and in the end got the goal their pressure probably merited.
Still, it was harsh for the Gunners, particularly as the centre-back pairing had performed so well. Plus they perhaps should have had a penalty in the first half.
Here are the individual player ratings:
2Midfield
Granit Xhaka 5
I’m a Xhaka fan, and he’s played very well in recent weeks and months. However, he had a terrible first half, and could well have seen red. He also has to take his small share of the blame for the Manchester United goals. He can take some of the credit for the Arsenal one though, and he improved generally in the second half.
A mixed performance overall for the captain of the day.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles 8.5
The man-of-the-match despite Manchester United’s win, Maitland-Niles had an excellent game. His passing was on point, he made tackles, wriggled his way out of pressure from United’s physical midfield, and made a lovely chance for Mkhitaryan with a back-heel.
He snatched at his shot a little and was caught on the ball a couple of times, but otherwise performed fantastically. Really made a case to get this opportunity in the centre more often.
Alex Iwobi 6
Not a particularly inspiring performance from Iwobi, but not bad either. He mostly just linked up his teammates, but fought well enough when required. Just didn’t create enough to get a higher rating given his position.