Arsenal player ratings vs Rangers: Nuno Tavares nets in 2-2 draw

Arsenal took on Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday for the second of their pre-season clashes in Scotland, drawing 2-2 with goals from Nuno Tavares and Eddie Nketiah.

Player ratings in pre-season. Almost entirely meaningless but nonetheless enjoyable since watching Arsenal is our bread and butter and it’s tough to avoid any fixture without an analytical hat on.

Mikel Arteta opted to ring the changes from the Hibernian defeat and fielded a strong side in Glasgow. Arthur Okonkwo kept his spot in goal while Folarin Balogun was handed a start up front, yet it was a non-competitive debut for Nuno Tavares that piqued everyone’s excitement.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang continued the trend of the strikers getting their big misses out of their systems nice and early with an early chance, before a poorly defended set piece presented Leon Balogun with an unmarked header he angled beyond Okonkwo well.

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Arsenal player ratings vs Rangers at Ibrox as Nuno Tavares scores on his debut in 2-2 pre-season draw at Ibrox

Arsenal did get themselves level with a debut goal from Tavares, and a fine one at that. Rob Holding lofted a ball wide to him and he sneaked ahead of his marker before shifting the ball onto his right and finishing neatly from a tight angle.

There were also a couple more sitters missed from Aubameyang as the visitors dominated.

As the trend continued after the break, all the positive elements of the performance were undone by yet another goal conceded from a corner.

Eddie Nketiah drew the Gunners back on level terms with a clever individual effort as he closed down possession in the box and then struck a low effort in at the near post wrong-footing the goalkeeper. No more goals followed and the spoils were shared.

Now for some mostly meaningless player ratings!

Arsenal Goalkeeper & Defenders Ratings

Arthur Okonkwo (GK) – 6/10 – Had…nothing to do. Which given how the first game went will have suited nicely.

Cedric Soares (RB) – 6/10 – Beaten down his side a few times too many times. Bent in a lovely cross for Aubameyang that he should have got an assist for. Lacking match sharpness.

Rob Holding (CB) – 6/10 – First game back is always going to mean some rustiness and it was evident in Holding’s distribution. Got the assist for Tavares, mind you. A combination nobody really expected. Made some good clearances in the box.

Pablo Mari (CB) – 6/10 – Committed an unsavoury challenge that rightly earned him a yellow card but was otherwise solid. Some strong reading of the play and a few neat standing tackles.

Nuno Tavares (LB) – 8/10 – What a goal! Tavares marked his debut with a delightfully taken strike, one that topped off a fairly comfortable outing. Always made himself available and played down the line well. Composed in possession.