Arsenal vs Burnley player ratings: The definition of ugly

By Josh Sippie | Feb 2, 2020

BURNLEY, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 02: Nick Pope of Burnley saves a shot from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Burnley FC and Arsenal FC at Turf Moor on February 02, 2020 in Burnley, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) /

Central Midfield

CM. Arsenal. GRANIT XHAKA. 7.5. <strong>Man of the Match</strong>. A controlled, reliable presence, as always. Stranded at times with Guendouzi next door. Tremendous passing, both over the top and through the lines. Nearly set up a beautiful Aubameyang goal in the 36th. Tremendous header to clear away a deadly set-piece in the 42nd minute. Forced into leftback duties when Saka couldn’t carry on. As usual, upheld his responsibilities there as well, delivering the ball beautifully, doing the defensive work that needed doing.

5.6. Had a lot on his plate and he was hit and miss in answer to it. Sloppy with the ball, struggled to establish himself in a hectic midfield. Had some positive bursting runs forward, but he looked unsure what to do when the pressure mounted. Just sloppy.. CM. Arsenal. MATTEO GUENDOUZI

5.8. I’m giddy any time he does anything defensive, and he did in the 8th minute. Yay! Had a lot of space to operate in, but a complete lack of service and cohesive build-up left him anonymous. He decided to reassert himself into the spectrum by committing a couple fouls and earning a yellow card for dissent. Not his kind of match, and that proved true yet again.. CAM. Arsenal. MESUT OZIL