Despite being the stronger team against a weakened Hull side, we couldn’t manage to find the net in 90 minutes.
Watching the players constantly trying to pass through the middle of the Hull City bus was incredibly frustrating. Although we had numerous shots, they were all down the throat of the Tigers’ goalkeeper and only a couple really troubled him.
We were missing a couple of key players, like Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey, who were rested for the tie and although we didn’t look awful, as the match wore on we looked devoid of creativity.
David Ospina – 5
Although the goalkeeper didn’t have a lot to do, when he did, he managed to completely miss the ball and had to be rescued by Kos. He makes me incredibly nervous.
Calum Chambers – 6
Chambers appears to be improving every time he sets foot on the pitch. He was decent going forward but was also a lot more confidence in defence. We did miss Bellerin but not necessarily because Calum was particularly poor.
Per Mertesacker – 5.5
The big guy had a quiet match but didn’t make any defensive blunders so he lives to fight another day.
Laurent Koscielny – 6.5
After a poor couple of months, the Frenchman appears to be back in business and was a commanding presence at the back, even saving Ospina from humiliation (again) when the keeper completely missed Hull’s delivery from a set-piece in the first half.
Kieran Gibbs – 5.5
Gibbo(/”Gibbsy”) wasn’t his usual self going forward and was very quiet. However, no huge mistakes.
Mohamed Elneny – 5.5
The new defensive midfielder made his second start for us and wasn’t too bad at all. He loves a shot, which is nice to see, but his decision making was a little odd at times. I’m sure he just needs more game time though.
Mathieu Flamini – 4.5
Poor. Poor all over the pitch. When he’s not having strange shots on goal, he’s preventing our own team from doing so. His positioning leaves a huge gap in midfield and it’s shocking that he’s still playing every week.
Joel Campbell – 5.5
Not one of the forward’s best performances but he didn’t do anything terribly wrong. His free-kick was excellent though – where did that come from?
Theo Walcott – 5.5
The forward started well. He looked lively and his speed was allowing him to have the time of his life against the Hull defence. However, whether he burnt out or just lost his mojo I don’t know but as the match wore on, he just wasn’t of much use.
Alex Iwobi – 6
The more I watch Iwobi, the more I like him. His work rate is admirable and his movement both on and off the ball is decent. It’s good to see him getting game time.
Danny Welbeck – 6
Despite being out for 10 months, Welbz looked lively and sharp. He had a couple of good efforts on goal and was constantly looking for space. If he’d had Ozil behind him, he could have scored a couple of times.
Subs
Olivier Giroud – 5
He came on the pitch and instantly had a chance on goal. His strength is so important to our attack.
Alexis Sanchez- 4
What’s happened to Alexis? His shots are sloppy and he definitely seems to be off the pace.