Full player ratings: Arsenal star gets 9/10, but Spurs' biggest let-down is obvious

in , , , , , , ,

Arsenal defeated arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 in a fantastic north London derby, full of goals, aggression and undoubted passion. 

It took just nine minutes for the north London derby to burst into life. Jan Vertonghen handled the ball in the box from an Arsenal cross, resulting in referee Mike Dean awarding the hosts a penalty, which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang duly converted.

The Gunners were all over Spurs in the opening quarter of the match but Spurs managed to equalise after 30 minutes from an Eric Dier header, which prompted confrontations on the touchline between the celebrating Spurs team and the Arsenal substitutes.

Moments later, a Rob Holding foul on Son Heung-Min in the Arsenal box gave Dean no choice but to award Tottenham a penalty. Harry Kane stepped up and put the visitors ahead.

The second half saw more aggression introduced as Arsenal tried to find a way back into the match. And that they did, with Aubameyang bagging his second goal with an excellent strike, showcasing his class to all.

At 2-2, the game was anyone’s to win. A brilliantly taken goal from Alexandre Lacazette put the hosts back ahead with 15 minutes to play. Not long afterwards it was 4-2, with Lucas Torreira sending the home fans into wonderland with his powerful strike.

It got worse for Spurs as they saw Jan Vertonghen get his second booking and thus get a red card at a time where Tottenham needed anything else.

The win means Arsenal leapfrog Tottenham into fourth while Spurs themselves fall out of the top-four following Chelsea’s win earlier today.

Here are the player ratings from Arsenal’s fantastic 4-2 win over Tottenham, in what will go down as one of the most entertaining north London derbies in recent memory.

Arsenal

Bernd Leno – 6 – Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper made quite a few decent saves but could have done better with Dier’s header.

Shkodran Mustafi – 6 – The towering centre-back did his best to organise the Arsenal backline and to try and score. He had a decent header saved by Lloris just before half-time and powered a second-half strike at goal, only for it to be blocked on the goal line. Injured.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos – 6 – His first taste of a north London derby, the former Borussia Dortmund defender did well for his first derby outing. Calm and collected, always offering his teammates an option.

Rob Holding – 6 – The ever-improving defender had a moment to forget when his foul on Son Heung-Min saw Arsenal fall behind to a Kane penalty.

Hector Bellerín – 6 – Offering his services up and down the right flank for the entire match, Bellerin had a mixed game full of decent moments and quite bad ones. Almost gifted Tottenham a goal with a misplaced pass just across the Arsenal box.

Lucas Torreira – 8 – A simply stunning moment for the new-boy who put Arsenal 4-2 up against their arch-rivals. Escaping the offside trap, Torreira drilled the ball into the back of the net. Adding some much-needed bite into this already feisty fixture and came close with a powerful strike that narrowly went wide of Lloris’ goal. A gritty, influential performance from the middle of the park. It’s clear to see why he is already a fan favourite.

Granit Xhaka – 6 – Struggled at times to dictate the play for Arsenal with any real influence but as the side got better late on he proved his worth.

Sead Kolasinac – 6 – From the off, Kolasinac got stuck into the Spurs team, with his aggression occasionally overstepping the mark.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 5 – Didn’t produce too much magic in the first half and was substituted at halftime as a result. An uninspiring appearance from the playmaker.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 9 – The Gambian international got his name on the scoresheet after just 10 minutes, calmly dispatching a penalty to put the Gunners 1-0 to the good. His second goal was absolutely superb. An instinctive first-time strike from Aubameyang who shot from outside the box into the bottom right corner. A fantastic strike, a fantastic performance.

Alex Iwobi – 5 – Missed a decent chance in the opening 20 minutes. Made himself available with decent movement but didn’t affect the match in a way we know he can. Was subbed at half-time.

Substitutions

Alexandre Lacazette – 7 – Surprisingly he didn’t start but he was brought into the action at half-time. Arsenal’s attacking presence changed as soon as he was introduced. 75 minutes on the clock, Lacazette had his goal. After being fed through by Ramsey, Lacazette had the calmness to control the pass and bury the ball into the bottom left corner. A great contribution.

Aaron Ramsey – 6 – Likely to leave Arsenal in the summer, Ramsey still did his best to try and fashion chances after coming on at half-time, assisting Aubameyang for Arsenal’s second.

Matteo Guendouzi – 6 – On for the injured Mustafi, Guendouzi is another Arsenal fan favourite.

Tottenham

Hugo Lloris – 6 – There was nothing he could do about the penalty but Lloris made a series of decent saves in the first half to keep Arsenal’s scoring limited. Aubameyang’s second goal was so sweetly hit, Lloris didn’t stand a chance.

Serge Aurier – 6 – With Trippier injured, the pressure was on Aurier to provide a good performance for Spurs. Ultimately, he was decent going forward but often out of position at the back.

Jan Vertonghen – 4 – Poor, uncontrolled defending meant Vertonghen left his arm in the air and gifted Arsenal an early penalty. His positioning wasn’t convincing and his leadership wasn’t clear either. Two bookings later, the defender was sent off. That capped off a terrible afternoon. Awful.

Juan Foyth – 5 – The youngster had a nervy start but grew into the match as Tottenham did. The second half proved that he still has a lot to learn as it was clear that he was out of his depth. Toby Alderweireld on the bench must have been scratching his head.

Ben Davies – 5 – Some neat bits of play on the left channel but Davies had to have one eye on the advancing Bellerin throughout. Didn’t do well enough as Spurs crumbled. Subbed.

Eric Dier – 6 – England’s World Cup penalty hero dragged Spurs back into the match with a fine header that got the better of Arsenal’s ‘keeper. A slight deflection off Lacazette’s strike from Dier was unlucky. Should have done better for Torriera’s goal.

Moussa Sissoko – 6 – He really seems like a different player these days. Strong, good movement and was quick at covering for his teammates with his defensive duties when needed. Unsure as to what position he was actually playing today.

Dele Alli – 6 – As aggressive as ever, Alli seems to love this matches. Occasionally making himself available, definitely putting himself about and ensuring that Arsenal’s line-up knew they were in for a game. However, overall he wasn’t at his best and was substituted as Spurs sought to get back into the game late on.

Christian Eriksen – 6 – Crossed in for Dier to score Tottenham’s first goal, Eriksen yet again showcased his creativity.

Harry Kane – 7 – His third penalty goal against Arsenal in his career, Kane was his usual threat. A good free-kick in the second 45 forced a save from Leno. Did well to win a number of free-kicks in the Arsenal half.

Son Heung-Min – 7 – The tricky attacker did well to win the first half penalty for Spurs and was his usual menacing self, causing Arsenal’s back four problems. Subbed.

Substitutions

Lucas Moura – 6 – Little impact.

Harry Winks – 6 – Even less impact.

Danny Rose – 6 – You know the drill. Zilch impact.

The post Every player rated as Arsenal beat Spurs in a NLD classic appeared first on Squawka News.



From Squawka NewsSquawka News https://ift.tt/2RsHQ9J
Labels: , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)