Man City 1-0 Arsenal: Player ratings as Gunners exit the FA Cup

James Cormack

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 27: Nathan Ake of Manchester City celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Manchester City and Arsenal at Etihad Stadium on January 27, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images)

Arsenal exited the FA Cup on Friday night as they were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

It was a chess match from the off with chances coming few and far between in the opening period with Arsenal working the more promising openings. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Leandro Trossard each drew strong saves out of Stefan Ortega, while Kevin de Bruyne curled wide at the other end.

The hosts then started the second half strongly as Thomas Partey was withdrawn in midfield, and they opened the scoring through Nathan Ake, who curled home tidily from inside the area after Julian Alvarez hit the post.

Mikel Arteta turned to his strong bench in response, and the Gunners came on strong to conclude the contest but they were unable to find an equaliser as City advanced into the fifth round.

Man City 1-0 Arsenal player ratings

Here are the Arsenal player ratings from their 1-0 cup defeat at the Etihad.

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Matt Turner impressed between the sticks. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Matt Turner (GK) – 7/10 – Dusted off a poor pass early on to enjoy a strong performance between the sticks. Quick off his line and assertive when claiming or punching. There was little he could do to deny Ake from opening the scoring.

Takehiro Tomiyasu (RB) – 6/10 – Defended Grealish well, rarely allowing the City winger to turn and attack him one-vs-one.

Rob Holding (CB) – 5.5/10 – There were a couple of hairy moments, and his booking led to a half-time withdrawal, but Holding competed well against Erling Haaland in the opening 45 minutes.

Gabriel (CB) – 6/10 – Wasn’t incredibly busy, but handled Haaland well when the Norwegian drifted over to his side.

Kieran Tierney (LB) – 4.5/10 – His lack of technical quality let Arsenal down at times in the first half, with Oleksandr Zinchenko replacing him midway through the second period.

Continued on the next slide…

Midfielders

Thomas Partey was withdrawn at half-time. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Thomas Partey (DM) – 6/10 – Was fairly quiet in the first half before he watakenke off at half-time. No injury, thankfully.

Granit Xhaka (CM) – 5/10 – Barely noticeable.

Fabio Vieira (CM) – 5/10 – Drifted through the contest without having much of an impact. Ended the bout down the right flank.

Continued on the next slide…

Forwards

Leandro Trossard was Arsenal’s brightest spark on Friday night. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Bukayo Saka (RW) – 5/10 – You’ve got to credit Ake for a fine performance at left-back. Saka barely got a sniff before he was taken off with 15 minutes remaining.

Eddie Nketiah (ST) – 6/10 – Worked off scraps for the most part and was often isolated against City’s two centre halves. Threatened Ortega’s goal on a couple of occasions, but wasn’t able to continue his hot streak.

Leandro Trossard (LW) – 7/10 – Harshly taken off on his first Arsenal start. Certainly the visitors’ brightest spark in the opening period and came close to opening the scoring. Promising signs.

Substitutes

William Saliba – 6/10

Sambi Lokonga – 5.5/10

Gabriel Martinelli – 6.5/10

Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6/10

Martin Odegaard – 6/10

James Cormack

James Cormack is a Paid Contributor for Hotspur HQ, and a freelance writer for Sports Illustrated Soccer. Previously taking up Site Expert roles across the FanSided network, James has been part of the FanSided team since 2021. James is responsible for the writing and editing of thousands of articles across multiple sites. A Spurs fan for life, James is excited to dig deep into the Thomas Frank project in north London.