Arsenal 1-2 Ostersunds FK: Gunners Progress Despite Shock Loss
Arsenal endured an embarrassing 1-2 loss to Ostersunds in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 32 game. The Gunners misfired throughout the game and put in a shambolic display, much to the ire of the supporters. They will still qualify for the next round based on the aggregate score. However, they probably did not expect to merely scrape through to the next round against an opponent like Ostersunds.
The first-half was absolutely terrible but the players appeared to do better after the break. But how did they all perform last night? Let’s take a look at their ratings.
Arsenal Player Ratings
David Ospina – 6.5/10
Ospina made his usual routine saves and he did seem nervy at times. But besides that, it was a decent show in goal.
Hector Bellerin – 4/10
It was a night where Arsenal’s defence looked feeble and Bellerin looked invisible. He simply could not contain Ostersunds’ Sema and found himself out-paced on almost every occasion.
Rob Holding – 5/10
Holding’s decision-making was rather questionable in the first-half but he marginally improved after the break. A few times, he made some rash movements which exposed Sead Kolasinac.
Calum Chambers – 4/10
He controlled the ball well at times but went missing during crucial moments. He was far from his best and this does paint a worrisome picture for the Gunners.
Sead Kolasinac – 6.5/10
Kolasinac was extremely poor in the first-half but he made up for it with a goal in the second. Unfortunately, that was not enough. Moreover, the defender looks far from his initial good form.
Mohamed Elneny – 4/10
His performance was marred by several mistakes and the player was just ineffective against Ostersunds.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 3/10
The youngster has been appreciated by everybody this season but his performance last night was absolutely terrible. He was taken off at half-time since he had literally done nothing on the field from the beginning. He maintained possession at times but Ostersunds completely dominated the midfield.
Jack Wilshere – 4.5/10
Wilshere’s performance last night drew a lot of criticism and one cannot say that he does not deserve it. He tried hard but nothing worked out and most of his passes and finishes were off the mark.
Alex Iwobi – 7/10
Iwobi was perhaps the only one who maintained some semblance of consistency in an Arsenal jersey last night. He dribbled well and made some important passes and was their least disappointing player by a mile.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 4/10
It was an extremely poor display from the Armenian. His creativity was wayward and he could not exert enough control over the opponents. Even his attacking runs looked weak and with a game against Manchester City coming up in the league, this does not look good.
Danny Welbeck – 3/10
Welbeck missed so many chances and the frustration was clearly visible on the fans’ faces. His execution was bad and it was just not his day on the field.
Subs:
Granit Xhaka – 6/10
Xhaka put in a far more stable performance than Maitland-Niles but even then, it was not up to the par.
Joe Willock – 5/10
His pace definitely proved to be a welcome change but he could not really make an impact.
Reiss Nelson – N/A
Nelson came on quite late and could not do much on the field.