Arsenal Vs Manchester City: Player ratings – Quality City carve open

Defence

Hector Bellerin – RB: 6.0

Didn’t make any major mistakes, though perhaps could have done better for the first goal, allowing Sterling to cut inside a little too easily. Handled Sterling well, for the most part, but while he wasn’t necessarily a cause of the problem, he wasn’t a solution either.

Sokratis – CB: 5.5

Defended quite well at times, was strong in the air and positionally astute, but his work in possession was shown up by the City centre-halves. If Emery wants to play out from the back a la City, then Sokratis needs to do more than simply play passes to the full back outside of him or back to the goalkeeper. That may seem harsh, but against opposition as good as City, that is what must be done.

Shkodran Mustafi – CB: 6.0

The best of Arsenal’s defenders, marginally. He was beaten all ends up by Sterling in the first half in an ugly moment, but he improved as the game went on, made several excellent clearances and tried to play forward into the midfield, rather than just play safe. Still, there is much work to be done regarding his relationship with Sokratis.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles – LB: 5.0

It was a difficult time for Maitland-Niles at left back. He didn’t have much help from Henrikh Mkhitaryan with Emery ostensibly demanding his team play with a narrow midfield, but he never closed down Riyad Mahrez quick enough, allowing the Algerian to drive at him with space to exploit. Went off with an injury midway through the first half also. Hopefully, he recovers well.