Arsenal’s undefeated streak in the Europa League came to an end after their 1-0 loss to German outfit FC Koln. Arsenal have qualified as group leaders prior to this game but were put to test immensely after their North London Derby victory at Emirates. Although a penalty decision was a controversial one, the Gunners would have liked to come away with a point at least. Despite being the group winners with two games in hand, this game was a stern test and a game to keep Arsenal’s winning run going. Here are the player ratings of Arsenal.
David Ospina (6):
Barely had anything to do all game. The Colombian could do nothing to keep the penalty away.
Mathieu Debuchy (8):
A surprising start for the Frenchman which he made the best use of. Authoritative presence at the break and possibly Arsenal’s best player and Man Of The Match in today’s encounter. Received harsh treatment for his soft foul that lead to the penalty. Unlucky.
Per Mertesacker (7):
Was not put to the greatest of tests on his return to his home soil. Nevertheless, a clean performance from the German.
Rob Holding (6):
Much like his fellow centre-backs, he too way untested by the Koln front-line and had very little to do in the game. But these are the kind of games to impress Arsenal boss to guarantee a place in the first XI.
Calum Chambers (6):
Was deployed in an alien territory of wing-back by Arsene Wenger tonight. Found it difficult to provide the width on the right-hand side.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles (7):
Far more authoritative than his colleague Chambers as he provided great support going forward and at the back using his pace to great effect. Another player who would be looking to knock on Wenger’s doors.
Francis Coquelin (6):
Came quite close to opening the account for the season but was unfortunately not taken. Other than that, he was his usual best breaking up play with his energy and crunch tackles in the middle of the park.
Mohamed Elneny (6):
While Coquelin did the cleaning up role, the Egyptian needed to offer a lot more going forward and being a potent attacking threat. Failed to create an impact going forward.
Jack Wilshere (7):
Had a few brilliant touches initially but his game soon faded away. His spark in the Europa League this term has been quite bright but was unable to catch fire tonight.
Oliver Giroud (6):
A frustrating night for the Frenchman as he lacked the much-needed service. A player in desperate need to impress but performances like these would do him no good.
Danny Welbeck (5):
Showed good pace in the initial stages of the game. Was good to get minutes under the belt for the Englishman. Removed at halftime by Arsene Wenger and replaced by Alex Iwobi.
Substitutes:
Alex Iwobi (6):
Came on for Welbeck at halftime. Caused a few problems to the Koln defence with his pacy and direct runs into the heart of the defence.
Reiss Nelson (6):
Made a fantastic run in the dying moments of the game and almost rounded it off with a goal.
Edward Nketiah (NA):
Did not do much to earn a rating as he was introduced in the final 6 minutes.
