Arsenal lost 1-0 against Tottenham Hotspur in Saturday’s North London derby, but they put in a terrible performance that deserved an even worse scoreline.
Čech, Bellerin and a bit of luck prevented the result from being an utter embarrassment. The forwards and midfielders didn’t do nearly enough to deserve a goal, and the rest of the defence offered very little in the way of protection, especially in the second half.
Here are our match ratings:
1Defence
Petr Čech – 8
Couldn’t have done much about the first goal, considering Kane had a free header from close range. Saved well from another shot minutes later, and even more impressively from Eriksen’s free-kick shortly afterwards. He also stopped Lamela’s shot well, but looked very shaky with the ball at his feet.
After that he saved again from Trippier, and very much kept Arsenal in the game. On another day planet, the team might nick an equaliser and we’d have Čech to thank for a point.
This was his ninth game in a row without a cleansheet – his longest ever run in the Premier League. It is also Arsenal longest run without a cleansheet since 2002.
Hector Bellerin – 6
Completely shut Son down throughout, despite the South Korean getting free on multiple occasions thanks to a lack of cover. Also created a fantastic chance for Lacazette. Maybe could’ve helped out more defensively in the second half, but generally he’s one of very few who can hold his head up after his performance.
Laurent Koscielny – 3
Didn’t get up early enough for Kane’s opening goal, even if he was impeded by the English striker. Lost the Tottenham man for another couple of easy headers in each half, and was fortunate on those occasions. Also let Lamela and Alli get free regularly.
Shkodran Mustafi – 3.5
Like Koscielny, let Kane get free for far too many headers. He also played Alli onside for a one-on-one that could’ve killed the game. He did have his moments, but was inconsistent at best.
Nacho Monreal – 4
Monreal didn’t make any major errors defensively, but could’ve done more to help out the centre-backs. His passing was way off on the day, with 76% pass accuracy whilst the other three defenders averaged 86%. Should’ve done better when he got free on the left and could only find a Spurs defender with his header back across the box.