With pre-season coming to an end with victory over Lazio, we’re taking a look back at how each player performed over the five matches.

After yesterday’s post analysing Arsenal’s goalkeepers and defenders in pre-season, let’s now take a look at the midfielders and forwards, in terms of how each individual is doing in their preparations for the new season.

1Midfielders

SINGAPORE - JULY 28: Aaron Ramsey #8 of Arsenal looks during the International Champions Cup match between Arsenal and Paris Saint Germain at the National Stadium on July 28, 2018 in Singapore. (Photo by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images for ICC)
SINGAPORE – JULY 28: Aaron Ramsey #8 of Arsenal looks during the International Champions Cup match between Arsenal and Paris Saint Germain at the National Stadium on July 28, 2018 in Singapore. (Photo by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images for ICC)

Matteo Guendouzi 8.5

Let’s start with one of the biggest positives of Arsenal’s pre-season, new signing Matteo Guendouzi. The 19-year-old midfielder appeared in all of the Gunners’ five matches, and was particularly impressive in the International Champions Cup games against Chelsea, PSG and Atletico Madrid.

The young Frenchman looked ridiculously composed on the ball, playing inch-perfect passes and skipping away from any opponents who tried to press him. He wasn’t perfect, taking a few too many risks in his defensive third, but he’s already putting himself in contention for the first-team squad at this early stage.

Aaron Ramsey 7

Ramsey started pre-season well, bagging an assist against Boreham Wood, and put in a couple of decent performances in Singapore. Then, unfortunately, he got injured just before the Chelsea match, and missed the rest of pre-season. Hopefully he’ll return in time for Manchester City at the weekend.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles 7.5

Maitland-Niles is another who started strongly, with an eye-catching run to set up Aubameyang in the opening minutes of pre-season.

Then he was forced to cover at left-back, and did so well enough, without any real standout moments for the remainder of the preparations. That’s other than a cheeky piece of control against Lazio. A solid few weeks for the youngster.

Emile Smith Rowe 8

Smith Rowe was another breakthrough star of the Singapore leg of pre-season. His goal against Atletico Madrid topped off a fantastic performance that day, in an otherwise fairly uninspired Arsenal showing. Then he came off the bench to assist Alexandre Lacazette in the next game against PSG.

Emile didn’t quite hit the same heights in the final two matches, but still made a big case for more chances this season.

Mohamed Elneny 6.5

Elneny joined pre-season late, and took a bit longer to get up to speed than many of his teammates. He really struggled against Chelsea, failing to provide any defensive cover and playing a number of poor passes, but improved for the final game against Lazio.

Alex Iwobi 7

Iwobi also improved as pre-season went on after joining late, and played very well in the final game on Saturday.

His shot off the post led to the opening goal, when Reiss Nelson turned in the rebound, and he consistently made intelligent and positive decisions all game. The rest of his shots throughout pre-season weren’t very impressive at all though, so there’s still work to be done.

Lucas Torreira 7.5

Torreira had a good debut game against Lazio, the only pre-season match he took part in. He completed 91% of his passes and won a number of duels, without performing quite at the high level he showed at the World Cup. That will come when he returns to full fitness.

Granit Xhaka 7

Once again, Xhaka only played one pre-season match, and wasn’t quite at his best as a result. Still, it was a solid performance, and his partnership with Torreira looks encouraging.

Joe Willock 7

Just like Jordi Osei-Tutu, Willock only appeared in the first few senior matches before dropping into the u23s. He got an assist against Boreham Wood, then used that first-team experience to great effect, performing well in his academy match.

Nonetheless, he might find it tough to get into the Unai Emery’s side with all the other midfield options available right now.

Click ‘Next’ for the player ratings for the forwards

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