Arsenal vs Manchester United Player Ratings: Old Guard Shines

Arsenal marched into Old Trafford with both teams needing three points, but they both shared one. Not a good game on either side of the ball.

It’s going to be hard for me to avoid expletives when referring to this match, but Olivier Giroud and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be sparing me a lot of those. This is a game that should have been lopsided but Arsenal came out scared. Even the starting XI screamed timidity.

We shouldn’t have had to settle with a point, but that’s where we ended up. It went from needing three points to being thrilled with one.

More on this later. Until then, here are the player ratings.

7.4. Petr Cech kept us in the game with some crucial saves while the offense was floundering about. Couldn’t have done anything with the goal that Mata scored.. GK. Arsenal FC. PETR CECH

RB. Arsenal FC. CARL JENKINSON. 7.3. Actually a decent game for Jenkinson. Defended very well. Absolutely was not the offensive threat that Bellerin was, but don’t discredit Jenko too much. Not an easy game to jump into and he did well with it.

Arsenal FC. SHKODRAN MUSTAFI. 7.2. I’m indifferent about this defense today. Mustafi had a few nice moments and a few moments where I was shaking my head. However, in a match completely dominated by the obvious headlines, such as why the hell the Gunners can’t managed to create a chance. Anyway… that’s hardly Mustafi’s concern.. CB

Much like Mustafi. I can’t recall any moments where I was pinching myself that Koscielny was out there, but he did well enough.. CB. Arsenal FC. LAURENT KOSCIELNY. 7.3

Burnt toast.. LB. Arsenal FC. NACHO MONREAL. 5.8

MOHAMED ELNENY. 5.9. I can’t stand that he started. Elneny has his uses, absolutely he does, but starting him shows such a degree of fear and trepidation that it drives me nuts. If the hope was to control the game, it failed. Elneny looked like he had ankle weights on. Not a good game.. CDM. Arsenal FC

6.3. Made Pogba look good. And that takes some doing. Didn’t do much else.. CDM. Arsenal FC. FRANCIS COQUELIN

6.4. Maybe his mind was elsewhere, which he could be forgiven. But the Ox did in 30 seconds what Walcott couldn’t do in 80 minutes.. MID. Arsenal FC. THEO WALCOTT

6.4. Not sure he was on the pitch at times. But I suppose I should ease up with these midfielders, because a 4-6 formation doesn’t give them much of a target to pass too.. MID. Arsenal FC. AARON RAMSEY

MESUT OZIL. 6.2. Had one cute touch, but without Giroud, Ozil had nothing to do. He was a nonfactor against a team that had no business stopping him. And for that, I blame Wenger.. MID. Arsenal FC

7.0. I gave him bonus points for the love he showed Giroud on the Frenchman’s goal. Alexis didn’t have much to do. Again, there was nothing there to work with. The defense and the front four were completely isolated as that middle two of Coquelin and Elneny could not provide a single thing.. ST. Arsenal FC. ALEXIS SANCHEZ

8.0. This is what happens! Why do we have to be confined to 15 minutes of Giroud when we could be blessed with 90 minutes? He, and he alone, scores that goal. So why did we have to wait so long? Anyway… mad props to Giroud. It’s not easy to continue coming on as a sub. Not at all.. SUB, ST. Arsenal FC. OLIVIER GIROUD

GRANIT XHAKA. 6.4. Not much to do. Is not an offensive substitution, which drives me crazy when he is used as one. Just like against Liverpool, throwing him into a high-paced match is not going to work.. SUB, MID. Arsenal FC

Next: Arsenal: 30 Greatest Players In History

8.3. MAN OF THE MATCH. Is it sad that the guy who played the least amount of time is taking home man of the match? Absolutely. But that’s where we are. The Ox’s run was everything we had been waiting for. He created the first real chance of the game, which led to a luckily-snatched point.. SUB, MID. Arsenal FC. ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN

Home/Arsenal News