Arsenal faced off against Southampton at the Emirates Stadium earlier this evening hoping to put a stop to their three-match losing streak in the Premier League. The Gunners made a sloppy start to the game as they conceded an early goal in the 18th minute when Theo Walcott found the back of the net. The visitors defended well and went into the half-time break one goal to the good.
The North London outfit found the leveller just seven minutes into the second half when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored with a tidy finish from close range. However, Mikel Arteta’s men suffered a huge setback after the hour mark as Gabriel received a red card. However, the Gunners hung on to secure a 1-1 draw at the end of this clash at North London.
Let’s take a look at how each Arsenal player fared during the contest against the Saints.
GK: Bernd Leno – 6/10
The German keeper conceded an early goal but did enough in the second half to see out the draw.
CB: Rob Holding – 7/10
Holding made some important clearances during the game. He was desperately unlucky not to score with his header that hit the bar in injury-time.
CB: Gabriel – 4/10
Gabriel won quite a few aerial duels in the first half. However, he let himself and his teammates down by getting sent off in the 62nd minute.
CB: Kieran Tierney – 6/10
He maintained a good defensive shape at the back and did enough to limit Southampton from scoring more than once.
RM: Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 7/10
He defended valiantly inside his half but lacked creativity in the opposition half.
CM: Mohamed Elneny – 6/10
Elneny worked hard in providing adequate protection for his backline but lacked invention with his ball-distribution.
CM: Dani Ceballos – 6.5/10
The Spaniard influenced the game at both ends of the field. He ran out of gas and got replaced in the second half.
LM: Bukayo Saka – 7.5/10
Saka didn’t give away too much defensively and worked hard to cause a few problems for the Saints going forward. The run for the Arsenal equaliser was exquisite.
RW: Nicolas Pepe – 6.5/10
Pepe was not afraid to have a strike at goal but didn’t do enough to register his name on the scoresheet.
ST: Eddie Nketiah – 6.5/10
The talented forward picked up an assist for setting up Aubameyang’s equaliser in the second half.
LW: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 7/10
The Gabon international kept his calm to score the all-important leveller early in the second half, which rescued a point for his team.
Substitutes:
CB: David Luiz – 6.5/10
The Brazilian centre-back organised his backline well and helped his team see out the draw.
CM: Joe Willock – 6.5/10
He added some energy to the Arsenal midfield.
RB: Cedric Soares – N/A
He did not get enough time to make an impact.
