Arsenal vs. Southampton Player Ratings

GK. Arsenal FC. PETR CECH. 7.5. MAN OF THE MATCH. Arsenal’s Czech shot-stopper had another good game, keeping his 14th clean sheet of the season. He was not tested with many efforts from the Saints, but he had a number of dangerous free kicks to collect and looked confident throughout the 90. 

The Spanish explosive full back is normally a huge threat to opposition defenses with his crossing and activity on the right wing. Today, he was a wallflower. Made some good defensive plays, though.. RB. Arsenal FC. HECTOR BELLERIN. 6.8

7.0. Laurent Koscielny, ever-present at the back for the Gunners, had a decent game in central defense. Arsenal was not under pressure for long periods during the game, so not much to do at the office for the Frenchman. However, he could have been better with his upfield passing.. CB. Arsenal FC. LAURENT KOSCIELNY

Arsenal FC. GABRIEL PAULISTA. 6.9. Gabriel stepped in well for Per Mertesacker – not that Mertesacker wowed with his last performance. The Brazilian kept a clean sheet against a Southampton side that possesses pacey players, something he has been to know to struggle with. His timing of some challenges was dangerous, which puts him a little lower than Koscielny.. CB

LB. Arsenal FC. NACHO MONREAL. 7.0. Natxo Monreal helped Arsenal attack with much more promise down the left flank: 43% of their attacking activity was on his flank. His tackling was strong, his positioning was good, overall a top defensive performance. He could have provided more attacking threat, though.

6.3. Mathieu Flamini is nowhere near the defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin is, nor is he the passer Aaron Ramsey <em>can</em> be. He made some errors that could have cost the Gunners, and did not provide much on either side of the ball. However, he didn’t actually do anything that cost the Gunners the points.. MID. Arsenal FC. MATHIEU FLAMINI

Arsenal FC. AARON RAMSEY. 6.6. Aaron Ramsey is limited by his role in holding midfield, but his wayward passing continues to be a problem and he has not been as productive with his <a href=. MID

JOEL CAMPBELL. 6.5. Joel Campbell did not do much of anything during his time on the pitch. He was substituted for an equally ineffectual Theo Walcott in the second half, but he did not contribute anything to the Gunners’ attack in the first 45 minutes, leaving it all for Alexis Sanchez.. MID. Arsenal FC

MID. Arsenal FC. MESUT OZIL. 7.0. It’s difficult to rate a player like Mesut Ozil, who plays brilliantly despite remaining absent from the stat sheet. He had a great cross that could have been finished by Laurent Koscielny, in addition to two good chances that drew top-class saves from Fraser Forster. He was a constant threat to the Saints defense, but there were not enough off-the-ball runners for him to pass to. If only he played with Real Madrid’s attacking players, he might get an assist or two.

7.5. By far Arsenal’s biggest threat going forward, Sanchez was a constant threat down the flanks. He didn’t end up scoring thanks to some great stops by Fraser Forster, but there is no doubt about his effort, and that was 110%. If only there was a striker on the day who got in positions that benefitted the Chilean, his output might have been more tangible.. MID. Arsenal FC. ALEXIS SANCHEZ

Olivier Giroud was stymied by the Southampton center backs, but he didn’t receive adequate aerial service and was ineffective as a result. The Frenchman had a brilliant volley saved by Fraser Forster, but other than that opportunity he had a surprisingly small impact on the match. Hopefully he can regain his confidence and goalscoring form, or else Arsenal are doomed to the Champions League playoffs once again.. ST. Arsenal FC. OLIVIER GIROUD. 6.5

THEO WALCOTT. 5.9. Dreadful performance from Theo Walcott, and he has now brought his goal tally to one goal in the past 16 appearances for the Gunners. Going from a player fans touted as a possible frontman to a substitute in a matter of months, Walcott is definitely a player in need of some confidence. It didn’t look like Joel Campbell had been replaced at all, as if he’d just walked off the pitch and left Arsenal with ten men.. MID. Arsenal FC

Arsenal FC. FRANCIS COQUELIN. -. Francis Coquelin doesn’t receive a rating because of the short amount of time he spent on the pitch. Arsene Wenger was tired of Matheu Flamini’s incompetence, and decided to give Coquelin some more fitness by bringing him on late in the match. If he did have a rating, it wouldn’t be high. His first action was to get a yellow card for a rash tackle.. MID