Girona 1-2 Arsenal: Champions League Player Ratings as Gunners ease into last 16
Champions League Player Ratings as Arsenal ease into last 16 by Ed Atkins
Player Ratings
Neto (5) – A big night for the Brazilian as he made his long-awaited Arsenal debut, and we wish it had been under different circumstances as he replaced the injured Raya. It was a shaky start, later showing atrocious positioning for Danjuma’s goal. He seemed to get his confidence back, making a good save from a Romeu strike and making strong claims from Girona corners.
Thomas Partey (6.5) – Once again out of position yet performed well. He caused problems with his long throws to find Odegaard on the right byline. Showing great determination to get into the box, the Ghanaian won the penalty that put us level.
Jakub Kiwior (5.5) – Jakub gave the ball away leading to a great chance for Girona but generally looked steady, with help from Gabriel.
Gabriel Magalhães (6) – He made a fantastic last-ditch tackle to halt Girona’s counter after their 1-0 lead. Constantly vocal, leading the rest of the back four.
Ricardo Calafiori (6) – Full of confidence off the back of his winner at Molineux last week and almost had one again but was found offside after nutmegging the keeper. Played some lovely triangles with Sterling and Merino, seeing most of our threat in the 1st half come from the left-hand side.
Jorginho (6.5) – Showed his experience keeping things calm throughout, and again when putting his penalty away.
Mikel Merino (6) – Showed the key traits Arteta was after when he signed him. Strength to hold off the likes of Romeu and Martin time and time again, ariel dominance, and the ability to wriggle out of trouble. He pressed well along with Odegaard.
Martin Odegaard (6.5) – Silky and consistent for the most part. Lacked that trademark Odegaard moment, but his set-piece delivery was on point.
Raheem Sterling (7) – Looked lively deployed on the left and showed strength to hold the ball up despite his size. Played a lovely ball through to Calafiori who finished but was just offside. Saw an early effort go centimetres wide! Continued to work hard into the later stages and arguably should’ve had a penalty after being tripped in the box. Saw his late penalty saved by Lopez, but that shouldn’t take away from the shift he put in all night.
Ethan Nwaneri (8) – Looked very dangerous, showing the same confidence Saka did at 17. Tracked back well and scored a sublime goal finessing it into the far left. This is a serious player, stands a great chance of starting vs City.
Leandro Trossard (5.5) – Missed a nice chance early on when the ball was whipped in and hit his arm. He smashed it against the crossbar just before half time. Put in good corner delivery in the absence of Rice, but somewhat wasteful at times. His backheel flick to Nwaneri was one of my favourite moments in the 2nd
Subs Used:
Jurrien Timber (5.5) – Subbed on at half-time for Partey and looked solid. Got forward well, winning a corner.
Kai Havertz (5) – Dropped into midfield regularly, linking up well with the 8s, but made little impact. Put himself about and got a couple of shots off to test Pau Lopez.
Myles Lewis-Skelly (6) – Myles kept things tight at LB replacing Calafiori. Bombed forward playing a part in the attack which led to Sterling’s penalty. Made an excellent slide tackle in the dying minutes to prevent a Girona counter.
Declan Rice (5) – A quiet 10 minutes with little to do for Dec. Assumed corner taking responsibilities and put a couple of lovely inswingers forcing Lopez to tip it over the bar on one occasion.
Gabriel Martinelli (5.5) – Put in a solid defensive shift when he came on, showing urgency to repeatedly win the ball back. Tested the Girona keeper late on with low driven strike which was saved.