Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs Chelsea: Player ratings – My word, Gabriel Martinelli

By Andrew Dowdeswell

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 21: Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal celebrates with his team mates after scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC at Stamford Bridge on January 21, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 21: Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal celebrates with his team mates after scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC at Stamford Bridge on January 21, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 21: Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea scores his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC at Stamford Bridge on January 21, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 21: Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea scores his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC at Stamford Bridge on January 21, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

Central Midfield

Very poor while the match was 11 vs. 11, not showing for the ball in central midfield, only inviting pressure from Chelsea when trying to play out from the back. But once moved into central defence, the Swiss played admirably. His immobility was not so exposed, he enjoyed the greater time on the ball to play out, and his defensive instincts, which have been questioned in the past, served him well. Then he committed the cardinal sin of defending a cross, dropping two yards deeper than the defensive line to play Cesar Azpilicueta.. CM. Arsenal. GRANIT XHAKA. 6.0

CM. Arsenal. LUCAS TORREIRA. 7.0. Works so, so hard off the ball. His running was critical to the Gunners’ deep defensive play when down a man. Scrappy, energetic, winning tackles, making interceptions, this was Torreira right at his very best. Sadly, before the sending off, he was very poor, especially in possession. It was not his passing that was the problem, but rather his movement. He could not find space for the centre-backs to play into and release pressure.

CAM. Arsenal. MESUT OZIL. 5.0. Worked hard when Mikel Arteta dropped him into central midfield following the red card, which was refreshing to see, but was utterly anonymous before then when the numbers were equal. And even during his more industrious moments, the impact and quality simply is not there. This is not the old Mesut Ozil.