Arsenal ended their abysmal run of 12 successive Premier League defeats to title rivals Manchester City with a statement 1-0 home victory thanks to Gabriel Martinelli’s 86th-minute strike.
The victory, which is Arsenal’s first against the treble winners in PL competition since December 21st 2015, extends the club’s undefeated start to the season to 8 games (6 wins, 2 draws), and importantly moves the Gunners above Man City in the league table.
The last player ratings article that I wrote was after our humbling 4-1 defeat at The Etihad in the heat of last season’s title race almost 6 months ago. This one, thankfully, is going to be a lot more positive and a lot more fun to write.
Raya – 6.5
The Spaniard started the game shakily, and according to Gary Neville, was ‘a bag of nerves’. Truth be told, it looked like the occasion was getting to him a little bit, especially in the first 45 where he almost gifted Julian Alvarez a goal, which did contribute to a nervy feeling being radiated around The Emirates Stadium. He also gave possession away cheaply on a couple of occasions at a time when we needed to be calm and settle into the game. However, as Arteta stated in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, he was brave, and was heavily involved in Arsenal’s build-up from the back, completing 29 passes (for reference, Nketiah completed 5). This was by far the biggest domestic game of his career, and we must take into account the expectations and pressures that come with playing for a club the size of Arsenal when compared to his previous club Brentford, with all due respect to them. Despite not having to make a single save, not many keepers keep a clean sheet against Erling Haaland and Julian Alavarez. He can be proud of himself.
Zinchenko – 7.5
Zinny gave a great account for himself against his former club, and can finally say that he’s been on the winning side of a game against Manchester City. He was his usual positive self and pushed up sensibly on his side of the pitch to support Trossard and later Martinelli when we were looking for the breakthrough goal, even having a couple of efforts on goal himself. A solid performance.
Gabriel – 8.5
Cool, calm, composed, and always switched on. Only Saliba and Jorginho completed more passes for Arsenal than Gabriel, who was brave and strong in the tackle. The Brazilian made a crucial block when the score was 0-0 which was almost as good as a goal. He has formed a special partnership with Saliba, which makes me question what Arteta’s reasoning was for benching him at the start of the season. A top performance today that he deserves a lot of credit and praise for.
Saliba – 9
At this point, what more can we say about our French wonderkid? There’s a good argument to be made that this guy is the best young defender on the planet. The 22-year-old won 100% of his aerial duels, completed more passes than any other Arsenal player (doing so with 97% pass accuracy), was dribbled past 0 times, didn’t commit a single foul, and barged Erling Haaland to the ground with complete ease like he’s not a 6’4 Nordic meat shield. He really is a Rolls Royce of a footballer, and we can count ourselves lucky that we have him on our books. What a defender.
White – 8
As always, Benny Blanco was heavily involved in Arsenal’s build-up from the back down the right-hand side of the pitch. He dealt with the maverick talent that Phil Foden is in the exact way that he had to – with no nonsense. He was physical, strong, and unapologetic about every duel he had with the 23-year-old. When Doku came on, he dealt with him and his electric speed well too, and made a couple of smart blocks from the Belgian’s attempted crosses. He also mugged him off with a cheeky nutmeg after we went 1-0 up to top off another great performance on his 26th birthday. I don’t know what this man’s done to you or your coaching staff Gareth Southgate, but he should be starting for his country.
Jorginho – 6.5
The Italian used his experience and nous to help us try and win the midfield battle. He was on the ball a lot, and only Ruben Dias and William Saliba completed more passes than him, highlighting how involved he was for us. He did get caught in possession a couple of times and received a booking slightly early on for a challenge on Phil Foden. A decent enough showing overall before coming off for Partey on 75 minutes.
Rice – 8.5
Wow. What a performance from a special player. Declan is the type of midfielder that we’ve been missing for many years. His passing was great, his mobility in the centre of the park was first-rate and his decision making was excellent. He won 3 tackles, including a beautiful one on Bernardo Silva later in the second half, and probably could’ve scored another big goal against a Manchester club at The Emirates had Jesus had cut back the ball to him when he should have. We also can’t forget his goal-line clearance early in the game at a time where if we conceded, the game probably would’ve turned out completely differently. I can’t help but looking at the difference in performance in this fixture between him and Xhaka from last season, who he has essentially came in and replaced in midfield, and it’s day and night. We have one of the best central midfielders in world football in our side, who has settled in perfectly to his new side. Top.
Odegaard – 7
Arsenal’s captain led the press outstandingly and at times was visibly frustrated that his teammates weren’t executing the press as ceaselessly as he was. Wasn’t his usual creative self and had 3 shots on goal, all of which failed to hit the target by some distance. Overall, it wasn’t his best game, but he can now say that he is the first Arsenal cap since Per Mertesacker in 2015 to lead his side to a PL win against City. Was still lively, hard-working and a crucial part of our midfield which in the end, won the battle.
Trossard – 6.5
Had to be subbed off at half-time with an unfortunate injury. Only played the first 45 minutes in what was a cagey, tight, stop-start affair between the league’s two best teams. Did notably at one point push us forward with a beautiful switch of play to Ben White and tried his best to get forward with Zinny down the left hand side.
Jesus – 8
Played out of position on the right-hand side but gave a brilliant account for himself against his former side. Was energetic, mobile, strong, and heavily involved in everything good that Arsenal did for most of the game. Had a great battle with Gvardiol, who is not an easy defender to play against one-on-one. He could’ve released the ball quicker once he made his way into the box a couple of times, and should’ve cut the ball back to Rice for a big chance in the second-half, but it’s hard to criticise the Brazilian, who was integral to the win. Worked his socks off and did a lot of the dirty work for us.
Nketiah – 4
Eddie, without sounding too harsh, was probably the worst player on the pitch. Massively snatched at a chance in the first half when he could’ve sent Rice through on goal, and at one point stole possession from his own teammate Martin Odegaard when he was clearly offside, which was slightly selfish and frustrating. Often big victories like this see the whole team get a minimum rating of 6 or 7, but I can’t let that cloud what was all-in-all a very poor showing from Nketiah. Nowhere near good enough for a game of this magnitude. We’ve seen this one too many times from him against the big 6.
Martinelli (sub) – 8
Arsenal’s young Brazilian star returned from injury with a bang, and injected some much-needed zip and flare into the game once he came on at half-time, which Kyle Walker struggled to deal with. His direct running and trickery gave the City backline problems, and of course, his 86th-minute deflected strike earned what could be Arsenal’s biggest win of the season. It’s so great to have him back.
Havertz (sub) – 7
Got the all-important assist for the winning goal and looked a lot better coming on from the bench to try and make his mark rather than starting. Credit to you Kai.
Partey (sub) – 7.5
Was only on for 15 minutes but TP5 came on and added some visible steal and combativity to our midfield. Importantly, he took the risk to play a brilliant over-the-top through ball to Tomiyasu, which lead to the winning goal. A great cameo.
Tomiyasu (sub) – 7.5
Like Partey, Tomi was only on for 15 minutes, but played a crucial involvement in Martinelli’s winner, making a rare run into the box before heading down Partey’s ball calmly to Havertz, who laid it off to Gabi for the winner. After his mistake in this fixture last year which lead to KDB’s opener, it feels right that he was involved in getting revenge over Guardiola’s men this time.
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