Arsenal let a 2-2 draw slip in the late stages on Saturday, falling to a one-goal defeat against Chelsea after a spirited fight back from 2-0 down.
After having to start the season against Premier League champions Manchester City, Arsenal moved on to one of their worst away grounds in recent years, Stamford Bridge.
For half an hour it looked like Chelsea might give the Gunners a battering, going 2-0 up and threatening constantly. Then Arsenal made a large number of fantastic chances, took two of them, and went in at half-time on level terms.
After that, only Chelsea seemed to come out with any intent to win in the second half. Eventually they got a late goal through Marcos Alonso, and saw out the final 10 minutes without trouble.
Here are our individual player ratings for the match:
2Midfield
Matteo Guendouzi 7.5
Another good performance from the Frenchman, and an improvement on a decent game against Manchester City. His pass to Bellerin in the first half was fantastic, and should’ve resulted in an Arsenal equaliser. Guendouzi made as many interceptions as the entire Arsenal defence, and four tackles to their five.
Granit Xhaka 5
Xhaka was terrible at times, and ended up coming off at half-time for Lucas Torreira. On the other hand, you could see Arsenal’s problems without him in the second half, as the Gunners couldn’t keep possession and didn’t make any chances.
They did look more solid defensively, but that doesn’t matter if you still let one in and can’t score. With Xhaka, it’s becoming a case of ‘can’t live with him, can’t live without him’.
Mesut Özil 6
Similarly, Özil didn’t have his best game, though he was far from the reason for Arsenal’s defeat. When he came off though, the team didn’t make enough happen.