Arsenal Player Ratings vs Olympiacos: Majority disappoint

Feb 28, 2020

Here are our player ratings for Arsenal vs Olympiacos as the Gunners dropped out of the Europa League with a 2-1 home defeat.

Bernd Leno 5 – There isn’t particularly anything Leno could have done about the actual goals. However, it was his mistake that led to the corner for the second one, as he took a bad touch then kicked the ball out for a set-piece instead of a throw-in.

Hector Bellerin 4 – Part of the reason Mustafi had to play such a big role in this game was that Bellerin struggled defensively. He also didn’t release Nicolas Pepe at all when the winger tried to make runs in behind, preferring to play short passes to feet.
Shkodran Mustafi 7 – Got drawn a bit too far away from his position on the set-piece for Olympiacos’ opening goal. Otherwise excellent, covering for a huge number of mistakes by teammates. Arsenal looked shakier when he went off with an injury late on.
David Luiz 4 – Combined with Sokratis to give away the second goal, and made a number of other mistakes throughout the match. His long passes to Aubameyang were also way off, for once.
Bukayo Saka 5 – Olympiacos very clearly set up to nullify Saka’s threat. They shifted across to overload that side and prevent the left-back from creating. It worked for the most part, though he did still create one chance and set up an offside goal.

Dani Ceballos 5 – Developing a knack for making interceptions, that was Ceballos’ best attribute on the day, making a team-high three before he came off early. He wasn’t creative enough in possession though.
Granit Xhaka 5.5 – Xhaka made some mistakes, particularly playing lazy passes to players on the left, and he wasn’t as incisive as he needed to be. Still, he wasn’t Arsenal’s worst performer. He did a decent job again dropping into a back three.
Mesut Özil 5 – Not good enough for the most part, but he played the ball in for Aubameyang’s goal and his late miss. A couple of moments of quality in an otherwise lacking performance.

Nicolas Pepe 6 – Pepe took players on for fun, completing 12 dribbles. Every other starter combined from both teams completed 11 in total. He didn’t do enough with those dribbles, taking four unsuccessful shots and creating one chance. Then again, when you have to complete 12 dribbles for five attempts on goal it shows you need more support.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 6 – How do you rate a player who scores a bicycle kick to seemingly give his team a late winner but then misses an even later sitter? Aubameyang doesn’t deserve the blame, given all he did for the team, but it was still a crucial bad miss.
Alexandre Lacazette 4 – Lacazette also missed a sitter and doesn’t have a redeeming bicycle kick to fall back on. Arsenal looked significantly more dangerous with Gabriel Martinelli on.

Lucas Torreira 6.5 – A pretty solid display, making four tackles and interceptions as well as creating a couple of chances. His decision to pass instead of shoot on both occasions was smart. It’s just a shame his teammates made nothing of those passes.
Joe Willock 5 – One blocked shot was the only meaningful thing Willock had to show for around 36 minutes on the pitch. He didn’t make any major errors, but he also didn’t add enough.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos 4 – Didn’t track his man for Olympiacos’ winning goal. Given the way Mustafi was playing, you’d have to think he wouldn’t have made that mistake.
Gabriel Martinelli 7 – Had a couple of attempts in his 15 minutes on the pitch, including in the build-up to Aubameyang’s goal. Also headed the ball clear from Olympiacos’ late corner well, it was just what came after that which was the problem.