Arsenal vs Liverpool player ratings: Five minutes in heaven

7.3. Here’s the thing – he, like everyone else, was poor in the first half. Don’t blame him for the Coutinho goal, he was never going to catch him. Blame him, Wilshere and Koscielny evenly. In the second half, whiles some were still floundering, the Swiss turned up the heat. He provided the first pass of both goal-scoring plays that he himself didn’t score. Let me say that again – both attacks that led to Alex’s goal and Ozil’s goals, were started by Xhaka. And then he obviously scored the one. From the start of the second half he was a different man. He wasn’t sloppy at all and he remains the only player outside of the two centerhalves to no be dispossessed of the ball. This was a supreme rebound from Xhaka and it needs to be appreciated.. CM. Arsenal. GRANIT XHAKA

He wasn’t terrible like everyone else, but he sure didn’t grab the game either. Had his troubles keeping hold of the ball and was never a threat to goal. That said, the fact that he wasn’t terrible made him stand out as a decent enough performer throughout the match, and that absolutely counts for something. He was a galloping stallion on some counter attacks. However, not many amounted to much of a threat. It was a decent match.. CM. Arsenal. JACK WILSHERE. 7.1