Arsenal played hosts to Slavia Praha at the Emirates Stadium earlier tonight as they looked to secure a win in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League quarterfinal tie. The Gunners were lacklustre in the first half and were held to a goalless scoreline at half-time.
The North London outfit were guilty of missing a lot of chances but they finally broke the deadlock in the 86th minute courtesy of Nicolas Pepe’s dinked finish. However, Tomas Holes equalised for Slavia Praha in injury-time as the match ended with Mikel Arteta’s men only managing to secure a 1-1 draw at home.
Let’s take a look at how each Arsenal player performed during the clash against Slavia Praha.
GK: Bernd Leno – 6.5/10
The German keeper made some good saves to keep the opposition frustrated for long periods of the game. However, he conceded the equalizer in injury-time which extinguished his hopes of a clean sheet.
RB: Hector Bellerin – 6.5/10
The Spanish full-back was solid at the back but offered very little in the opponent’s half.
CB: Rob Holding – 7/10
Holding timed his tackles well to earn possession back for his team. He was also strong in the air.
CB: Gabriel – 6.5/10
The Brazilian defensive ace made a couple of important interceptions for his side. He also cleared his lines when required but won’t be pleased after conceding a late goal.
LB: Cedric Soares – 6/10
He could have done better with his positioning to prevent the late equaliser. Otherwise, Cedric had a solid game at left-back.
CM: Thomas Partey – 7/10
Partey protected the Arsenal backline quite well and had a couple of lively moments in the final third. He ran out of gas and was replaced in the 77th minute.
CM: Granit Xhaka – 6/10
The Swiss midfield ace got stuck in with a few tackles but struggled to influence the game going forward.
RM: Bukayo Saka – 7/10
Saka created a few decent chances for his teammates to score. He also made two exciting runs during his time on the field.
CAM: Emil Smith Rowe – 6/10
Smith Rowe struggled to get himself involved in the game and got substituted before the full-time whistle.
LM: Willian – 6/10
The Brazilian playmaker was unfortunate to hit the post with his goal-bound attempt early in the second half. Otherwise, he hardly got a sniff at goal.
ST: Alexandre Lacazette – 6.5/10
Like Willian, the Frenchman also hit the woodwork in the second half. He was guilty of squandering some decent chances to find the back of the net.
Substitutes:
LM: Gabriel Martinelli – 6/10
The youngster added some energy to the Gunners attack.
CM: Mohamed Elneny – 6/10
He made one good run after coming off the bench.
ST: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 7/10
The Gabon international picked up an assist for setting up Pepe’s goal.
RM: Nicolas Pepe – 7/10
Pepe finally managed to break the deadlock in the 86th minute with an excellent dinked finish.
CM: Dani Ceballos – N/A
He hardly had any time to influence the game.
