Arsenal managed to grind out a victory over Cardiff City on Tuesday night, but it wasn’t as easy as it should’ve been for Unai Emery’s side.
Arsenal really struggled in the first half of their Premier League clash, and either team could have been in the lead at the break. Though things did improve after that, with a change in formation and the introduction of a couple of substitutes, it still wasn’t vintage Arsenal in the second half either.
Nonetheless, The Gunners got the job done, scoring twice before Cardiff pulled one back with a very late consolation goal.
Let’s have a look at our individual player ratings for the match.
2Midfield
Lucas Torreira 7
Torreira recovered the ball excellently on a number of occasions, particularly in the second half, keeping Arsenal on the ball and the pressure on Cardiff. At his best, that’s exactly what the Uruguayan is in the team to do. He was effective in possession and made a couple of good runs forward, but he never looked likely to create a goal.
Mohamed Elneny 5
Elneny was taken off at half-time, and it wasn’t hard to see why. Though the midfielder did make a few good tackles, he never looked like breaking Cardiff down, and he held up a number of good counter-attacks simply by being too slow in possession.
The best chance Elneny created in his 45 minutes on the pitch was when he accidentally lobbed Monreal to send a Cardiff player through on goal. It was also the only chance he created.
Matteo Guendouzi 8.5
Guendouzi’s best work came in the second half, but he was one of few who didn’t underperform in the opening period either. The Frenchman’s range of passes was excellent as always, and he created a couple of good chances.
Spending far more time on the ball than any of his teammates, the 19-year-old shouldered the extra responsibility very well.
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