Following their narrow win over Tottenham, Arsenal visited the Gewiss Stadium to take on Atalanta in their opening Champions League contest. It was a rather drab display for Mikel Arteta’s men and they will have their goalie to thank for keeping the game at a stalemate.
It was very drab affair from an attacking perspective, with the defenders showing their prowess, working tirelessly to repel the barrage of attack Atalanta put throughout the game. Arsenal really missed their captain, Martin Odegaard, and the lack of cutting edge creativity really showed in the skipper’s absence.
Without further ado, here are the Gooner Daily player ratings.
Defense
David Raya – Turning out to become Arsenal’s best player this season. His penalty save, which was followed up with a parry for the rebound was a vital moment in the team that took the wind off Atalanta’s sails. (9)
Ben White – Did very well to quell the threat posed by Atalanta’s dangerous winger, Ademola Lookman. (7)
Gabriel – Made a lot of defensive contributions and kept his concentration on check for the entirety of the contest. (7)
William Saliba – Was a monster at the back with was culminated with a last-ditch clearance to whisk the ball away from Lookman. (7)
Jurrien Timber – Did okay on the left and inverted well. (7)
Midfield
Thomas Partey – I really can’t wait for Mikel Merino to be declared fit from his shoulder injury, because Partey is slowly becoming a liability on the pitch. His lack of agility was terribly exposed when the Atalanta midfielder, Ederson, ran circles round him before he scythed the Brazilian in the box for a penalty. (5)
Declan Rice – Struggled with his ball progression and worked hard to cover for Partey. Not one of his finest outings for the club. (6)
Kai Havertz – Spent a considerable chunk of the game on loggerheads with Ederson and won a lot of duels. Having Gabriel Jesus in front of him limited his attacking threat, but in all honesty, he struggled to influence the game when he was moved forward after Jesus’ substitution. (7)
Forwards
Gabriel Martinelli – Playing like a footballer bereft of confidence, snapping at his chances and not doing enough to justify his place in the team. (6)
Bukayo Saka – Seemed like he was nursing an injury and didn’t do much on the attacking third before his substitution. (6)
Gabriel Jesus – Failed to link up well with his teammates while spearheading the attack and had zero shots. His substitution was justified. (5)
Substitutes
Leandro Trossard – Came on to take on the Odegaard role and stunk up the entire damn place. His passes failed to connect with the teammates as he was trying to hard, when a simple option would have been the preferred alternative. (5)
Jorginho – Added some calm to the midfield after replacing Partey. (7)
Raheem Sterling – His versatility was on show with him starting from the right but he didn’t contribute much on the attacking third. (6)
Riccardo Calafiori – Looked eager to try to make something happen and made some darting runs forward. (7).
