Arsenal put in a limp performance against Sheffield United on Monday as they suffered a 1-0 defeat away from home.
With all the pre-match talk about Sheffield United’s excellent defensive record – they’ve conceded the joint-fewest goals in the league this season – Arsenal knew exactly what to expect from this game.
Instead of staying patient and keeping things tight at the back, Arsenal allowed themselves to fall behind in the first half, doubling the difficulty of their task.
Admittedly, Mike Dean helped somewhat, denying a clear penalty for a shirt pull on Sokratis Papastathopoulos and then booking Bukayo Saka because he was tripped up. Arsenal should have scored anyway though, with Nicolas Pepe missing a good chance.
In the second half, it really never looked like Arsenal might equalise. Bar one Calum Chambers shot across the box, there wasn’t one moment when a goal even seemed to be on the cards.
Let’s have a look at our player ratings for the match.
2Midfield and Forwards
- Matteo Guendouzi 5 – Guendouzi did what he could pretty well, the problem was more in the system that doesn’t have anyone linking him and Xhaka to the forwards – at least not effectively.
- Granit Xhaka 5 – Pretty uninspiring and lucky to get away without a yellow card that would’ve left him suspended. Still, most of his work on the ball was solid and he certainly wasn’t the biggest problem in possession.
- Joe Willock 4 – Willock had struggled in this exact role with the England u21s in their last game, but clearly Emery either didn’t watch that match or didn’t care. Unsurprisingly, he had the same problems, and he needs to be played deeper in future.
- Nicolas Pepe 6.5 – Certainly Arsenal’s best player. Pepe had all of the best chances, going close from a free-kick and a curling effort from distance. He missed a sitter, but only after he created the chance in the first place with excellent dribbling in a tight space to get the team on the attack. He even made a game-high five tackles.
- Bukayo Saka 6 – Say what you want, I think Saka should have had a penalty in the first half. It was certainly never a dive. The young winger also created an excellent chance for Ceballos with a chipped cross. Suffered when asked to play at 10.
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 4 – Couldn’t offer much at all in the middle, on the night, and nothing changed when he moved out to the right. No chances created and one blocked shot summed it up.
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