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.
3Substitutes
- Dani Ceballos 5.5 – Better than Willock had been in the first half, as Ceballos at least got on the ball a lot more. He was no more effective in creating chances than Willock, Guendouzi or Xhaka though, as the four of them made zero key passes combined.
- Alexandre Lacazette 4 – Just as ineffective up front as Aubameyang had been before him. Harsh to judge him too strongly on a substitute appearance in an underperforming Arsenal team after just returning from injury.
- Gabriel Martinelli 4 – Has had some great cameos and starts recently, but this wasn’t one of them. The winger only made six touches and none of them were very influential.