Arsenal Vs Southampton: Player Ratings

In a truly dreadful display, Arsenal fell to Southampton 2-0 in the fifth round of the EFL Cup. Here are the player ratings and they are not pretty.

That was the worst performance this season, by some distance. Arsenal were lethargic, leggy and lacklustre, seemingly disinterested, bored and quite happy to exit the competition with the threat of added games in what is already a crowded calendar.

Here are the player ratings from the 2-0 loss and they are not good.

7.0. Quiet game for Emiliano Martinez. Enjoyed a nice, easy run-out but had very little to do. Made the saves he had to but couldn’t do anything for either goal. Difficult to grade him either way.. GK. Arsenal. EMILIANO MARTINEZ

5.8. Both goals came down the Gunners’ right flank. Was out of position for the first, then gave the ball away poorly for the latter and failed to recover. Must improve with few other options.. RB. Arsenal. CARL JENKINSON

6.8. Couldn’t get across to block Bertrand’s shot for the second goal – though that is a harsh criticism. Other than that, solid but did not boss the game like in recent outings.. CB. Arsenal. ROB HOLDING

CB. Arsenal. GABRIEL PAULISTA. 6.6. Not at fault for the first goal but did not get out to Boufal to stop the cross for the second goal, allowing him into the penalty area. Was skinned a couple of times in the second half, but can’t be blamed for the loss.

Arsenal. KIERAN GIBBS. 6.9. Nice to see him captain again and did very little wrong defensively but also offered little going forward. But then, no one else did, so can you hardly blame him?. LB

CM. Arsenal. MOHAMED ELNENY. 5.7. Went off just before half-time with an injury to be replaced by Granit Xhaka. Was solid if not spectacular once again, but does not deserve to be starting in the big games, especially when Santi Cazorla is back.

Arsenal. FRANCIS COQUELIN. 5.7. Does not belong in a midfield with Elneny. Neither have the technical ability to boss the game when in possession. Though that is not his fault, that’s Wenger’s.. CM

Had some nice touches in the first half but was quiet for the majority of the game. Tough game to impose himself on from the right wing given a very attacking Betrand.. LM. Arsenal. JEFF REINE-ADELAIDE. 5.9

5.5. Very poor once again. Struggled to break down a resolute Saints’ defence while losing the ball far too often. Wenger needs to inspire some confidence in the young man.. LM. Arsenal. ALEX IWOBI

Arsenal. AARON RAMSEY. 5.2. Also very poor. Couldn’t get on the ball and boss the game like Ozil does so well. Gave the ball away cheaply, and on a night when he was tasked with being the primary creator, looked short of ideas.. CAM

5.3. Struggled to hold up play, was suffocated for much of the game and was dominated by the extremely impressive Virgil Van Dijk. He’ll be hoping for another opportunity to put things right rather soon.. ST. Arsenal. LUCAS PEREZ

7.3. MAN OF THE MATCH: More by default than anything else, sprayed a couple of nice passes around but did not inject the necessary pace and energy in the second half and did lose the ball a few too many times.. SUB. Arsenal. GRANIT XHAKA

7.1. Looked very assured in possession with a few lovely little passes in central midfield. Has a very bright future but was brought on in a tough spot with his side playing poorly 2-0 down.. SUB. Arsenal. AINSLEY MAITLAND-NILES

Provided a much-needed injection of pace and directness in the team’s attacking play but lacked calmness in the final third, missed a good chance late in the game and is still too inconsistent.. SUB. Arsenal. ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN. 6.4

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