The Gunners put themselves in a precarious situation after losing to Napoli in Italy but despite the defeat, Arsene Wenger’s side has qualified for the Round of 16 yet again. The boss made two changes from the side that drew with Everton as Mathieu Flamini and Tomas Rosicky made it to the starting XI in the places of Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere.
Listed below are Gooner Daily’s ratings for Arsenal’s disappointing defeat against SSC Napoli;
Wojciech Szczesny: The Pole has been piling up clean sheets on a consistent basis in recent weeks and was certainly in confident mode in the buildup to the game. On the night, he made good saves and dominated his area well but he was blameless for both goals conceded. 7/10
Carl Jenkinson: You can’t fault this lad’s effort but he offered nothing to his team from an attacking perspective. There were many times when the Gunners built up attacks but when the ball found its way to Jenkinson, he was a bit clueless on the next decision to take, which always ended up with a Napoli defender stealing the ball. 6/10
Kieran Gibbs: Like Jenkinson, Gibbs didn’t waltz forward to contribute to the attack, but he remained steadfast in his defensive duties. 7/10
Laurent Koscielny: The French defender’s performance in the first half was a joy to behold but in the second half, he looked out of sorts a bit. 7/10
Per Mertesacker: The BFG’s pace was exploited in the game and he won’t be happy with his overall performance. 6/10
Mathieu Flamini: The Flamster played like a man possessed by some crazy spirit in the first half as he showed his tenacity and barked instructions to his teammates. He also made some forward runs was supplied a neat pass to Giroud that split the defense open. 8/10
Mikel Arteta: The captain of the night worked hard for his team but his sloppiness earned him two bookable offenses that left the ref no choice but to brandish his card to the Spaniard on two occasions. I must say that he let his team down. 6/10
Tomas Rosicky: The Czech maestro pressed further up the pitch but failed to make his mark on the game. 6/10
Mesut Ozil: The German schemer was a peripheral figure in the game and for a player of his immense quality, you’d be expecting better. 6/10
Santi Cazorla: The Spaniard’s inconsistency has been alarming this season and it was on show yesterday as he offered nothing for his team in the final third. 6/10
Olivier Giroud: The French striker gave his manager something to think about in the January transfer window as he put up another lethargic showing and even earned himself a silly yellow card for dallying on the ball after the whistle was blown. 6/10
Nacho Monreal: Did what he’s good at – protecting Gibbs and running around for his team. 7/10
Aaron Ramsey: Tried to be inventive when he came but he didn’t fare any better than his teammates from an attacking perspective. 6/10
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