Home » Teams » Arsenal » Fantastic Cech: The Best And The Worst Rated Arsenal Players From Their 0-0 Draw Against Stoke City

Fantastic Cech: The Best And The Worst Rated Arsenal Players From Their 0-0 Draw Against Stoke City

Arsenal played out a goalless draw that featured a multitude of mispasses, defensive errors and wondrous saves from either goalkeeper. The Gunners have now dispositioned Leicester City at the top of the table by virtue of goal difference, but may have established a two-point lead had the refereeing been more accurate.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain filled the void left by Mesut Ozil, who had to sit out with a foot injury. With Aaron Ramsey being the prime source of creativity, the Gunners struggled to find cohesion in the midfield.

Arsenal had their best and arguably the only chance to put something on the board halfway into the first half when Joel Campbell slipped a tidy pass to Olivier Giroud only for him to shoot straight at Jack Butland, who kept his side in the contest, smothering every single Arsenal effort with ease.

The Potters had their chance to take the lead on 57 minutes when Marko Arnautovic fed Joselu, after dispossessing Joel Campbell near the halfway line. Petr Cech parried the initial effort of the Spaniard and quickly reacted to complete a double save as Bojan Krkic attempted to tap the rebound home with a low drive. Both teams had their share of half chances, but failed to put the lid on the game.

Petr Cech – 8.5

The Czech Republic international single-handedly avoided what could have been a morale-crushing defeat, coming off the line at crucial moments to punch crosses away and also stuck out his leg to deny Joselu in the dying minutes.

Hector Bellerin – 7

He pocketed an in-form Marko Arnautovic and looked bright going forward, despite twice allowing Stoke City defenders to hack his crosses away – when Arsenal seemed to build some momentum – in quick succession and similar fashion.

Per Mertesacker – 7

The Arsenal skipper helped his side nullify their aerial threat, winning every single aerial duel, but still played some dangerous passes that the hosts failed to cash in on.

Laurent Koscielny – 6.5

He read the game quite well making a whopping 13 clearances and often sparked Arsenal attacks, winning the ball back in areas, where you would normally expect a holding midfielder to intercept.

Nacho Monreal – 7.5

The Spaniard did his task perfectly, forcing Jonathan Walters into mispasses and his positional awareness denied Stoke City of the liberty to dominate the flanks.

Mathieu Flamini – 6

Arsenal desperately lacked the ability to hold on to the ball and with Mohamed Elneny waiting to be called upon, he should have offered a bit more stability in the middle of the park.

Aaron Ramsey – 6.5

He again gifted a lot of space in the middle for their opponents to exploit. However, his clearance off the line was great. In the absence of Mesut Ozil, he was expected to take on extra responsibility, but he failed to rise to the occasion.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5.5

The Englishman put in a shift, but things did not click, adding to his woeful season. He often gave away possession and played poor passes even without much pressure.

Joel Campbell – 7.5

The 23-year-old winger was the prime source of creativity and worked hard like he always does.

Theo Walcott – 5

He was non-existent and with Alexis Sanchez returning shortly, he should get accustomed to a role on the bench.

Olivier Giroud – 6.5

Philipp Wollscheid and Ryan Shawcross effectively negated the threat he imposed with a little bit of help from referee Craig Pawson.

Alex Iwobi – 7

The Nigerian teenager contributed more to the team than what Theo Walcott managed in 70 minutes, and his presence injected a little urgency into the team.