Arsenal lost yet another away match on Wednesday night, this time against Leicester City, but for once the team had a valid excuse.
After just 15 minutes, referee Graham Scott reduced Arsenal to 10 men, right after the team had just conceded a goal. At that point it was a massive uphill battle to get back into the game.
It was therefore to Arsenal’s credit that they managed to do so. They got an equaliser in the 53rd minute, and dominated for large parts of the game. Eventually the work they’d put in showed in the final 15 minutes, with the players tiring and Leicester scoring twice to win the match.
Nonetheless, it was a better performance than most away games this year. Here are our individual player ratings:
3Forwards
Henrikh Mkhitaryan 6.5
Mkhitaryan didn’t play badly in general, and his first half shot required an impressive save. Arsenal always look better overall when he’s in the team, and that was clear even with 10 men.
Unfortunately, he messed up his good work with a rash challenge in the box. Although it was harsh to give a penalty, there was very little danger, so no need to make the tackle in the first place. Overall he made more fouls than anybody else, and got dispossessed more than everyone except Ramsey, so I can’t give him too much credit for this game.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 8
Aubameyang put on another impressive individual showing, as he continues to prove that if Arsenal just tighten up at the back he’ll give them chances to win every game.
The striker took more shots than usual as he tried to get the team back into the game, and eventually one of them went in. He gave the team an outlet all match, and is now just one goal away from double figures in the Premier League.
Danny Welbeck 6
Welbeck didn’t really do anything at all before his substitution when Arsenal went down to 10 men.