Here are my Arsenal player ratings from tonight’s tight and nervy 1-0 win over Besiktas:
Wojciech Szczesny – The Polish keeper had a fairly quite night, can’t remember him making a save and made a few decent catches. 6/10
Mathieu Debuchy – Made two vital interceptions to keep the score level (one probably was a pen but wasn’t given). Got sent off after picking up a second yellow in the 77th minute. 6/10
Per Mertesacker – Was a bit nervy to begin with and found himself in midfield at times with Demba Ba coming deep. Did ok. 6.5/10
Laurent Koscielny – Kept his position well and was full of energy. A good performance from the French defender. 6.5/10
Nacho Monreal – Didn’t get forward as much as he usually does but put a good shift in tonight. 6.5/10
Mathieu Flamini – The ageing midfielder got stuck in and was commanding those around him brilliantly. Great energy levels and work-rate. Surprisingly, he never got booked! 8/10
Jack Wilshere – Played really well tonight. Drove the ball forward well, got stuck in and always looked for the killer pass. But he needs to build from this and hopefully he does. 8/10
Santi Cazorla – Started off slowly but got into the game as it wore on. Looked a little tired towards the end but did his bit when we went down to 10. 6.5/10
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Displayed his explosive pace and stamina once again early on and gave Besiktas’ left-back problems all night. Did his bit defensively as well. 7/10
Mesut Ozil – Found space well and attempted slide-rule balls towards Sanchez. Proved he is more effective in field with the ball that led to the goal. Not a left winger and was knackered towards the end. 6/10
Alexis Sanchez – Scored the winner and ran his socks off for from start to finish. Simply brilliant. 9/10
SUBS:
Calum Chambers – Came on for Ozil in the 77th minute and received a booking after coming on before the ref allowed him to! Tightened the defence and did well. 5/10
Cazorla MOM for me. Wonderful control, great passing, great defensive shift – always leading the ball out of defence for us and holding onto it until the right time.
Also a nod for Monreal – he’s had a really solid start to the season in an area many were concerned about.
Carzola MOM for me too. he was on fire for the big chunk of the game, but got tired towards the end
Cazorla was a beast 2nite…link up play was superb nd his defending was awesome 4rm an attacking midfielder.I was also impressd wit chamberlain nd debuchy..they seem to have clicked already..sanchez was simply put…AWESOME!…hp wenger still gets a nyce striker dah cn help nw dah Giroud is injured…also,Ozil needs to be benchd..he doesnt gve his best nd slows d tempo of d game.
I don’t remember carzola playing so well defensively. He won the ball many times and linked up play as well. I can’t believe he only getsa 6.5
Savage I agree Monreal has been surprising ._..
4 players get my nominations for MOM which are Cazorla, Debuchy, Sanchez and Wilshire but I will have to give it to Sanchez for his workrate and scoring the winner! Pleeeaasseee wenger buy falcao or cavani!!??!!
play ozil in his position or rest him on the bench
I think Carzola really played well…your rating of 6.5 isn’t fair enough for a guy who ran his socks off. He was good offensively and defensively. Glad we qualified and hoping for a favorable draw
I agree with most of the comments here, I have never seen Santi track back and tackle so much
The only worrying aspect for me was how many times we miscontrolled the ball when in dangerous attacking positions especially The Ox. Hopefully this will come good with more matches under our belt as we shold have scored more last night
I really hope we buy a sharp finishing striker, though hopefullly Theo will be back soon