Player ratings: Arsenal lose to promising Chelsea, but Guendouzi tops the bill

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Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-2 in an exciting affair at Stamford Bridge to remain unbeaten in the Premier League this season.

Maurizio Sarri’s men opened the scoring after just eight minutes through Pedro before Alvaro Morata doubled the advantage.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan pulled one back for Arsenal 10 minutes before half-time and shortly after Alex Iwobi equalised.

But Marcos Alonso scored the winner inside the final 10 minutes to earn Sarri his second consecutive win and condemning Arsenal to back-to-back defeats.

Here’s how the players rated.

Chelsea

Kepa Arrizabalaga – 4 – Chelsea’s £70m man on his Stamford Bridge debut really should have done better for Mkhitaryan’s first goal, being beaten from outside the area at his near post. But the Spaniard could do nothing about Iwobi’s effort.

Cesar Azpilicueta – 5 – Cesar Azpilicueta has played everywhere across the back line for Chelsea and showed what he can do as a provider, once again assisting Alvaro Morata. But like the rest of his team-mates, the Spaniard was not great defensively, allowing Iwobi far too much time and space.

Antonio Rudiger – 4 – Possibly Chelsea’s best centre-back option this season, Rudiger has a lot of work to do alongside the erratic David Luiz and was caught out quite a bit by Arsenal’s attackers.

David Luiz – 4 – Like Rudiger, David Luiz is far better on the ball than he is off it and looked the weak point of Chelsea’s defence.

Marcos Alonso – 6 – As usual, Marcos Alonso was good in attack and used his wing-back experience well to provide for Pedro and the winner. But the Spaniard left a lot to be desired defensively allowing Bellerin to get past him too many times.

N’Golo Kante – 8 – N’Golo Kante is a fantastic player and in Sarri’s new system found himself getting forward more, though his final product still needs work. But his increased freedom in running did leave Chelsea open at times, something his new manager will need to work on this season.

Jorginho – 7 – The game against Arsenal showed the good and the bad of Jorginho’s game. Unbelievable on the ball, it was the Italian’s pass to Alonso which started Chelsea off well and he dictated play. But when required to defend, Jorginho was easy to get out and alongside Luiz and Rudiger he allowed Arsenal far too much space on the edge of the box.

Ross Barkley – 6 – Starting ahead of Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Barkley showed promise on the attacking side of Chelsea’s midfield. But he did leave gaps defensively at times, owing to a lack of understanding with Alonso.

Willian – 4 – Willian is a cause of frustration at times for Chelsea fans and on Saturday’s showing it is clear to see why. Effective on the ball on occasion, the Brazilian was also a passenger and his lackadaisical style allowed Arsenal a way back into the game as he gave the ball away on the edge of Chelsea’s box.

Alvaro Morata – 7 – If ever someone needed proof how important confidence is in football, Alvaro Morata is the prime example. The forward started the game slow but when played in well by Azpilicueta, Morata dealt with Mustafi well before beating Cech and his game improved from there.

Pedro – 8 – Pedro is loving life under Maurizio Sarri, opening the scoring with his second goal in as many games under the new boss. When Hazard returns to the starting line up, the Spaniard will most certainly keep his place in the side.

Substitutions:

Mateo Kovacic (for Barkley 60) – 7 – Performed well on debut, linking up with Hazard and getting back to defend.

Eden Hazard (for Willian 60) – 7 – Came on in the second half and caused many problems for Arsenal’s defence with his trickery, providing the assist for Alonso’s goal.

Olivier Giroud (for Morata 75) – 5 – Added another dimension to Chelsea’s attack and could have scored against his former side but his shot was saved.

Arsenal

Petr Cech – 5 – Lacking confidence on the ball, Cech could do nothing about either of Chelsea’s first-half goals as his defence left him open on both occasions. However, he may look at their third and wonder if he could have done better, allowing the ball to go through his legs.

Hector Bellerin – 4 – Hector Bellerin was Arsenal’s equivalent of Marcos Alonso in the first half, poor defensively but good in attack. The Spaniard gave his compatriot far too much space to attack at times but gave as good as he got when Arsenal grew on the ball.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos – 4 – Brought in this summer to beef up Arsenal’s defence, Sokratis has not enjoyed the best start to life in London and was poor once again on Saturday. The Greek international cannot play the high line Unai Emery requires of his teams and was fortunate Chelsea did not expose him more. Did improve in the second half.

Shkodran Mustafi – 4 – Usually good for Arsenal, Mustafi was another defender to have a poor game and was especially at fault for Chelsea’s second goal. Up against Morata, the German allowed himself to be beaten far too easily in a race from the halfway line and outsmarted inside the box.

Nacho Monreal – 6 – Back in the Arsenal side, Nacho Monreal was arguably the Gunners’ best defender of the evening keeping his flank well and also combining with Iwobi to trouble Azpilicueta.

Matteo Guendouzi – 9 – Put in a tough match-up against Kante, Matteo Guendouzi played like a Premier League veteran, sweeping up well in front of his defence and cutting the passing lines.

Granit Xhaka – 3 – Granit Xhaka was poor on Saturday, leaving Guendouzi to do most of the hard work and offering him little support. Taken off at half-time by Emery as he tried to restore some sanity to his team.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 7 – Henrikh Mkhitaryan was guilty of a horrendous miss when Arsenal were 2-0 down, shooting well over the crossbar from the penalty spot. But the Armenian grew into the game, and his team did alongside him, as he scored Arsenal’s first with a driven shot.

Mesut Ozil – 3 – Arsenal needed someone to control the game high up the pitch but Mesut Ozil was very poor against Chelsea, having very little impact on the game.

Alex Iwobi – 7 – Combining with Monreal on the left, Alex Iwobi was fairly quiet in the first half under his excellent run into the box to equalise. The Nigerian then grew in confidence and enjoyed some success against Azpilicueta.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 4 – While Mkhitaryan improved after his poor miss, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had a day to forget at Stamford Bridge. After shooting over with just the goalkeeper to beat, the striker missed many an opportunity to give his side control.

Substitutions:

Lucas Torreira (for Xhaka 45) – 5 – Brought stability to Arsenal’s midfield and sat in well alongside Guendouzi.

Aaron Ramsey (for Ozil 68) – 5 – Got forward more than the man he replaced and could have equalised but his speculative effort was just over.

Alexandre Lacazette (for Iwobi 75) – 3 – At fault for Chelsea’s third goal, first giving the ball away inside his own half before being beaten by Hazard.

The post Player ratings: Arsenal lose to promising Chelsea, but Guendouzi tops the bill appeared first on Squawka News.



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