Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea – my player ratings

Here are my Arsenal player ratings today’s 1-0 Community Shield win over Chelsea:

Petr Cech – Had a comfortable day out against his former club. Was rarely threatened and kept a clean sheet. 6/10

Hector Bellerin – Made a few mistakes early on, losing possession and positioned badly. But as the game wore on, the young Spaniard got better and used his pace down the right flank to Arsenal’s advantage. 6/10

Per Mertesacker – Good positioning throughout and communicated well with the rest of the back four, playing some good offside traps. Dominated in aerial challenges. 6/10

Laurent Koscielny – Got his body in front of everything and was aggressive in the tackle. Another solid performance for the Gunners. 7/10

Nacho Monreal – Was not put on the back foot as you would have thought by Chelsea, and the Spaniard was allowed a bit more freedom going forward. Surged forward to offer another option in attack and nearly got on the scoresheet if not for Branislav Ivanovic’s header. 6/10

Francis Coquelin – Kept things simple by getting into good positions to intercept and win back possession for his side – just what you want from your defensive midfielder. 6/10

Aaron Ramsey – Struggled to get into goal-scoring positions that we usual see him in, but worked well for the side. 5.5/10

Santi Cazorla – Showed flashes of brilliance on the ball and in his passing range was once again present. Should have scored. 6/10

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – His pace frightened Chelsea’s defence and managed to smash home what proved to be the winner. Always caused problems and was Man of the Match for me. 8/10

Mesut Ozil – The German drifted in and out of the game but showed glimpses of his magic on the ball – in particular the bass that led up to the goal. Could have done more, but did ok. 5.5/10

Theo Walcott – Was denied space by the Chelsea back four and his better runs he made weren’t spotted by his team-mates. Jury’s still out on whether he can lead the line this season. 5.5/10

SUBS:

Olivier Giroud – Came on for Theo in the 66^th minute and nearly scored with his first touch of the ball. Did more than Walcott. 6/10

Mikel Arteta – Replaced Chamberlain in the 77^th minute and got into a fight with Radamel Falcao. 5/10

Kieran Gibbs – Came on for Ozil with eight minutes to go. Should’ve wrapped things up late on. 5/10