Arsenal did not enjoy a good afternoon against Chelsea and, while Pablo Mari is facing the wrath of most Arsenal fans, he was far from alone in having an absolute stinker.
Pablo Mari’s pathetic attempt to win a freekick rather than to defend against Romelu Lukaku, the second £100m player to score this weekend, has made him the focus of a lot of Arsenal fans’ anger. It’s not the first time we’ve seen him try something like that, so it seems it is a trait he carries, like Shkodran Mustafi pointing to others after he f**ked up.
Speaking of Mustafi, he still hasn’t signed for a new club, are we sure this isn’t him in a Pablo Mari suit?
Still, Mari was far from the worst-rated defender on Sunday afternoon. His partner in crime, Rob Holding, who should have scored in the second half, finished with a 6.0 to Mari’s 6.7, but Kieran Tierney, forever exposed before being injured, got a 5.9.
In the middle of the pitch and up front, it didn’t get much better. Albert Sambi Lokonga, who looked smart for a lot of the match, only got a 6.0 himself showing how little it takes to make me happy. Granit Xhaka, fresh from signing his new Arsenal contract that was confirmed in the matchday programme, got 6.5.
It was Emile Smith Rowe, however, who picked up the highest rating for Arsenal against Chelsea, he managed to get a whopping 7.0.
Arsenal player ratings – starting XI
- Bernd Leno 5.8
- Cedric Soares 6.4
- Rob Holding 6.0
- Pablo Mari 6.7
- Kieran Tierney 5.9
- Albert Sambi Lokonga 6.0
- Granit Xhaka 6.5
- Nicolas Pepe 6.0
- Emile Smith Rowe 7.0
- Bukayo Saka 6.3
- Gabriel Martinelli 6.3
Arsenal player ratings – subs
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 6.3
- Nuno Tavares 6.3
- Folarin Balogun 6.3
To compare, only two Chelsea players got lower than 7 – Kai Havertz (6.8) and Mateo Kovacic (6.6), scores that would have made them the second and fourth highest rated Arsenal players on the day.