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A poor outing from Arsenal tonight saw them lose 1-0 to Olympiacos in the Europa League, but still secure passage to the Europa League quarter-finals with a 3-2 aggregate success. Here are the player ratings.
From the off, Arsenal lacked intensity and the impact of quite a strange team selection was evident.
Olympiacos’ talisman and Arsenal bogey man Youssef El-Arabi scored a goal early in the second half to cause a slight scare but the Greek side didn’t offer much of a threat elsewhere. As many expected, Arsenal did their best not to make it easy for themselves with some really sloppy play throughout the night.
Regardless, the Gunners’ 3-2 victory on aggregate sends them through to the next round of the Europa League. When all is said and done, it didn’t matter how Arsenal got the job done tonight as long as they managed to progress to the quarter-finals.
Arsenal player ratings vs Olympiacos: Gunners reach quarter-finals despite 1-0 defeat
Here’s our player ratings from Arsenal’s 3-2 aggregate victory over Olympiacos in the Europa League Round of 16.
Goalkeeper & Defenders
Bernd Leno – 5: Not at fault for El-Arabi’s goal but Bernd Leno appeared to struggle a bit at times this evening. His distribution was poor and due to spending most the night as a bystander he seemed to lack a bit of sharpness. A rest over the international break would be welcomed by the German shot stopper.
Hector Bellerin – 5: Another indifferent display from Hector Bellerin. The Spaniard had some good moments but struggled on the ball. Him and Pépé looks like a partnership that’ll just never work for Arsenal.
David Luiz – 5.5: Hmmm… A tough one. Luiz was important in key moments, with some crucial interventions. However, he let El-Arabi inside far to easily for the Moroccan’s goal. From a senior player, you expect a bit more.
Gabriel – 6.5: Once again, the Brazillian hardly put a foot wrong defensively and had some really positive moments. However, sometimes his passing was a bit rash. Probably Arsenal’s best performer on the night which says a lot considering he was pretty average.
Kieran Tierney – 5: As always, Tierney played with his heart on his sleeve this evening but unfortunately he looked like a player in desperate need for a rest. Surprising that he started to be honest.
Midfielders
Mohamed Elneny – 6: Very standard performance from Elneny. Broke things up when required in the first half and was very secure on the ball. The Egyptian did exactly what was needed but was an obvious contender to be hooked when Mikel Arteta felt the tempo needed to go up a little bit.
Granit Xhaka – 5: A really tired display from Granit Xhaka, no surprise considering how much football he has played lately. Hopefully Switzerland recognise his fatigue and avoid overplaying him during the international break.
Dani Ceballos – 4: Playing in a more advanced role, Dani Ceballos struggled this evening. He was important within the few good moves Arsenal produced in the first half but at times he took too many touches and tried the difficult pass far too often. Stupidly lost the ball in build up to El-Arabi’s goal.
Forwards
Nicolas Pépé – 6: One of Arsenal’s better players on the night. He caused Holebas some significant problems at times but he was a player very much in and out of the game. As aforementioned, him and Bellerin down the right just doesn’t work.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 4: Arguably Arsenal’s worst performer on the night. Many expected a resilient response from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after his exclusion at the weekend but instead he lacked security on the ball and fluffed his lines when a golden chance presented itself to him in the first half. Similarly poor finish on the break with 10 minutes to play. Not good enough.
Emile Smith Rowe – 5: The youngster had a bit of a torrid night out on the left-wing. After such a brilliant outing in the north London derby, the young Englishman let his standards drop tonight. Of course, he wasn’t the only one culpable of that tonight.
Substitutes
Thomas Partey – 5: Arsenal’s star midfielder undoubtedly added some class to the team but that didn’t stop him from providing Arsenal fans with a few scares. The international break will do the the Ghanaian who looks far from his best at the moment some good.
Martin Ødegaard – 6: The Norwegian made a really positive impact coming off the bench. Would’ve been a nice to see him offer a bit more composure when he made a big chance for himself but he did a good job of steadying the ship.
Gabriel Martinelli – N/A: Great to see him on the pitch. Offers so much energy.
Chambers – N/A