HT: Arsenal v Liverpool: Every player marked out of 10

Arsenal and Liverpool are currently all-square at half-time in the Premier League.

The Reds have the chance to move to the top of the table with a win, while Arsenal can go just one point behind their opponents and Manchester City should they come out on top in the second half.

Here’s how the players have rated so far.

Arsenal

Bernd Leno – 5 – Did not look too confident playing out from the back but was on hand to brilliantly stop Van Dijk when the Dutchman was in on goal. Had a very lucky moment just before half time, coming too far out off his goal line but Van Dijk’s header hit the post.

Hector Bellerin – 6 – Got forward quite a bit for Arsenal in the first half but did not have too much success with Liverpool defending well.

Rob Holding – 5 – The more quiet of Arsenal’s centre-back pairing, Holding did little wrong in the first half.

Shkodran Mustafi – 6 – Looked to be troubled by an injury early on but overcame it to look solid in defence. Produced a good goal-line clearance to prevent Van Dijk from tapping in.

Sead Kolasinac – 6 – Given the unenviable task of keeping a lid on Mohamed Salah, Kolasinac did well in the first half, keeping his opponent fairly quiet and restricted to glimpses of quality.

Lucas Torreira – 7 – Ran the show for Arsenal in the first half, the metronome of the Gunners midfield

Granit Xhaka – 7 – Back in his preferred central midfield position, Xhaka had a very good first half, helping out defensively.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 6 – Had a good opportunity to put Arsenal ahead, beating Alisson in the air but his header was wide.

Mesut Ozil – 6 – Did have a quiet first half as his side relied on fast breaks, but showed he only needs a moment with a neat flick playing in Lacazette – though the Frenchman shot wide.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 5 – The least involved of the Arsenal players, Aubameyang had a few early goes at Alexander-Arnold but nothing came of them and only came to life once more shortly before half-time.

Alexandre Lacazette – 5 – Had the first chance of the match, getting onto the end of Kolasinac’s cross but his touch on the ball was slightly too faint at the front post.

Liverpool

Alisson – 5 – Was fortunate not to concede early on, coming out to try to punch clear a cross being beaten in the air by Mkhitaryan but the Armenian’s header was wide. Did, however, recover to show the full extent of his abilities.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 5 – Arsenal clearly highlighted Alexander-Arnold as Liverpool’s defensive weakness putting most of their attacks down his side, though he managed well after a sloppy start.

Joe Gomez – 7 – Looked his usual confident self in the first half but was rarely tested defensively as Arsenal favoured the wings without much impact.

Virgil van Dijk – 6 – Had the best chance to put Liverpool ahead in the first half after breaking through on goal but was closed down by Leno.

Andy Robertson – 6 – The slightly less under-worked of the two full-backs, Robertson had an okay first half.

James Milner – 7 – The busiest of Liverpool’s midfield trio, Milner was his usual no-nonsense self set on halting Arsenal while also pushing his own side forward.

Fabinho – 5 – After some good performances for Liverpool, Fabinho did not have the best first half, giving away possession far too much for Klopp’s liking.

Georginio Wijnaldum – 6 – Didn’t have too much time on the ball but was fault when he did have control, helping his side move around the pitch well.

Mohamed Salah – 5 – Showed signs of giving Kolasinac real problems but nothing really came off for the Egyptian in the first half aside from a good deep cross to Van Dijk.

Roberto Firmino – 4 – The Brazilian had a very quiet first half.

Sadio Mane – 5 – Thought he had put Liverpool ahead after making a good run to tap in as Firmino’s shot hit the post but was adjudged to have been offside.

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