Three Arsenal players made it into the BBC and WhoScored Teams of the Week for their performances against Leicester City on Saturday.
Though Arsenal weren’t always at their best against Leicester City at the weekend, a few players did put in strong performances to earn spots in the various Premier League Teams of the Week.
Ethan Nwaneri and Mikel Merino both featured in WhoScored’s team, with Nwaneri receiving the second-highest rating in the entire lineup (9.69), only second to Yankuba Minteh (9.95).
Sam Hammond writes that Nwaneri completed more dribbles than anyone else on the pitch (seven), and made two key passes, one of which was his assist for Merino.
As for Merino, his two goals were obviously what won him a place in the side as a centre-forward.
Troy Deeney also selected Merino for his BBC Team of the Week, though he put him in as a midfielder.
Deeney wrote that Merino “shouldn’t really get in” his team, given he was only a substitute. But he decided to include the Spanish international because “the impact he had on that game at Leicester was absolutely massive”.
The former striker also selected Gabriel Magalhaes for his team, writing that the defender “is now getting marked ridiculously closely from set pieces but is still able to get away and cause trouble, but defensively he was very good as well”.
Somewhat controversially, Deeney didn’t pick Nwaneri for his team, despite the youngster winning the Player of the Match award ahead of both Merino and Gabriel.
Arsenal are next in action against West Ham United on Saturday, and given the injuries around the squad right now, Mikel Arteta will probably need Nwaneri, Merino, and Gabriel to impress again to secure three points.