How Arsenal players fared against Schalke – my ratings

Last night Arsenal took on German side Schalke in the first of their Champions League Group B games and having watched the game, here are my ratings on the players performances at The Emirates:

Vito Mannone – The Italian goalkeeper looked a little shaky, with a penalty scare early on and a few other nervous moments. Seemed to do well during the course of the game till the two goals flew in. 5.5/10

Carl Jenkinson – Another good performance from the young Englishman. Defended well and made a few good crosses into the box as well. Had no real impact going forward though. 5.5/10

Per Mertesacker – Simply put, he was a rock. Made vital blocks and moved about very well. Should have done better with the first goal we conceded. 6/10

Thomas Vermaelen – Didn’t see much of our captain last night. Made a few runs forward trying to encourage the team to attack. But it was simply a fruitless display by the Belgian. 5/10

Andre Santos – Simply put, the Brazilian had a nightmare – worst defensive display I have ever seen him dish out. Caught out on many occasions and was ball watching for the majority of the game. Was certainly our weak link, as all of Schalke’s attacks came from his side. Easily the worst player wearing the Arsenal shirt on the night. 2/10

Mikel Arteta – Didn’t quite look at all like his usual self. Lost possession too many times and had no impact on the game from his deep midfield role. 5/10

Aaron Ramsey – Worked hard in my opinion, but didn’t have the pace to cause any trouble to Schalke. However, he was once again played out of position. Did ok. 6/10

Santi Cazorla – The little Spaniard made a nuisance of himself as usual. Unfortunately we couldn’t get the midfield maestro to cause further damage upfront. 7/10

Francis Coquelin – My man of the match. He sat in front of the back four with assurance and was impressive when he did manage to get forward. Like most youths, he showed great energy and enthusiasm. A mature performance from the Frenchman. 8.5/10

Lukas Podolski – The German did well in the first half, creating a few crosses for Gervinho, but he did fade away as the game wore on and offered no cover to Santos. 5.5/10

Gervinho – Did move about well on the field and had a few half chances. But like most, his wheels fell off as the game wore on. To top it all off, the Ivorian got booked for a dive after beating his man – unnecessary. 5/10

SUBS:

Andre Arshavin – Played the last 10 minutes. Not much too really gauge the little Russian on. 4/10

Serge Gnarby – Didn’t have much time to shine but played well when he came on. Great skill and movement and almost had an instant impact with Arsenal’s only effort on target. Not bad for a 17 year-old on his Champions League debut. 5/10

Olivier Giroud – Moved about well when he came on, but didn’t have much of an impact as he only played the last 15 minutes. 4.5/10

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