August’s football is already over and while it is still relatively early, we’re starting to get a feel for how Unai Emery wants his team to line up and play.

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - AUGUST 11: Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno reacts during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal FC at St. James Park on August 11, 2019 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – AUGUST 11: Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno reacts during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal FC at St. James Park on August 11, 2019 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

After each match we do player ratings for that game, so I thought this season it would be a good idea to have a look over the month as a whole and see what those ratings tell us.

Arsenal in August

Arsenal's French-born Ivorian midfielder Nicolas Pepe (R) controls the ball in front of Liverpool's Scottish defender Andrew Robertson (L) during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on August 24, 2019. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP)
Arsenal’s French-born Ivorian midfielder Nicolas Pepe (R) controls the ball in front of Liverpool’s Scottish defender Andrew Robertson (L) during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on August 24, 2019. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP)

Arsenal used 18 players across their three matches in August with only five playing the full 90:

Four players have stood out for Arsenal this season so far. We have three players tied in second place on 20.5 points and one leading the way on 21:

  • Bernd Leno 21
  • Joe Willock 20.5
  • Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 20.5
  • Nicolas Pepe 20.5

What’s notable here is that, of that quartet, Pepe has only started one game yet he’s already keeping pace.

That being said, our top performer over the three games, Leno, is still only averaging 7 per match and that, as we know, is bog average. The Elneny of player ratings.

Total points, of course, only works for players who are playing regularly so to see who has been the worst performers, we need to look at their averages.

Of the players who’ve played more than one game there is a clear loser, sitting at the bottom of the heap – Henrikh Mkhitaryan with an average score of 4.8 from the two games he’s been involved in.

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - AUGUST 11: Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Arsenal battles for possession with Javier Manquillo of Newcastle United during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal FC at St. James Park on August 11, 2019 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – AUGUST 11: Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Arsenal battles for possession with Javier Manquillo of Newcastle United during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal FC at St. James Park on August 11, 2019 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Against Newcastle (4) in the season opener, Mkhitaryan played a nice ball over the top to Aubameyang at one point, but the rest of the match was his peppered with the usual attempted nutmegs that never come off and wasteful decision making on the counter.

He didn’t feature against Burnley while he came on as a sub against Liverpool (5.5) and actually looked alright for the four minutes plus injury time he was on the pitch. The game was dead, but he had one nice dribble and made a few decent passes.

Arsenal August player ratings

Player Av points
Calum Chambers (1 game) 7.5
Bernd Leno (3) 7
Joe Willock (3) 6.8
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (3) 6.8
Nicolas Pepe (3) 6.8
Ainsley Maitland-Niles (3) 6.3
Lucas Torreira (2) 6.3
Reiss Nelson (2) 6.3
Dani Ceballos (3) 6.3
Sokratis (3) 6.2
Matteo Guendouzi (3) 6.2
Sead Kolasinac (1) 6
Gabriel Martinelli (1) 6
Alexandre Lacazette (2) 6
Nacho Monreal (3) 5.8
Granit Xhaka (2) 5.5
David Luiz (2) 5.3
Henrikh Mkhitryan (2) 4.8