Unai Emery’s magical touch in the UEFA Europa League failed to shine as Arsenal were held by Vitoria Guimaraes earlier this evening.
It was not the most entertaining game, with Arsenal, in particular, trying to circulate possession to try and breach the opposing defence. But, the Gunners had no real answers against a rigid Vitoria backline, which was evident in the fact that they failed to muster a single shot on target throughout the first half.
The game pretty much had a similar pace after the restart, though Arsenal did look more threatening at times. And just when it was looking as if the match is heading to a goalless draw, the visitors finally broke the deadlock through a header from Shkodran Mustafi late in the game. But, Vitoria kept fighting till the very end and deservedly sealed a point by scoring a late equaliser through Bruno Duarte.
Here is how Emery’s men performed in their draw with Vitoria.
Emiliano Martinez 7
Bizarrely, it was a busy evening for Martinez, who had to make a few great saves in the first half. This performance will surely boost the confidence of the Argentine, although he needs to appear more imposing in goal.
Shkodran Mustafi 7
Scored the all-important opener, which pretty much looked like the winner as well. The German also received a good opportunity before the goal and was overall, a threat from set-pieces. Defensively he was below average.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos 6
The Greek was brought in to add more stability to the backline. But, he offered very little resistance while he threaded a lot of vertical, meaningless passes.
Rob Holding 5
A shoddy defensive display from the Arsenal star, who was entrusted with the job of leading his side this evening. The defender lacked composure and was completely exposed in more than one occasion, especially in the end, where he allowed the Vitoria winger to deliver a cross across the byline.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles 5.5
Increasingly looking a misfit in the Arsenal system as Maitland-Niles offered very little technical quality on the table. But, he worked hard today and denied the Vitoria attackers time and space on the ball.
Joe Willock 6.5
Looked tidy in possession and distributed play all around the pitch, helping Arsenal dominate possession. But, a lack of involvement saw Arsenal running out of creativity and inspiration in the middle third of the pitch.
Dani Ceballos 5
It was one of those mediocre performances from the Spaniard, who looked rusty with the ball at his feet, though he was Arsenal’s primary ball-carrier.
Kieran Tierney 7.5
Despite featuring in a slightly unfavoured left wing-back slot, Kierney continues to impress with his composure and maturity as well as fighting spirit. He covered a lot of ground and kept fighting for his team right till the very end.
Nicolas Pepe 7
Once again struggled to influence the game as the Ivorian’s failure to score a goal from open play for his new club continues. But, Pepe’s precision deliveries into the box was the reason how Mustafi ended up finding the back of the net.
Gabriel Martinelli 6.5
Although Martinelli has been in excellent form, Arsenal somehow lacked the presence of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Alexandre Lacazette. The Brazilian was mostly isolated though he did track back to help out the defence, at times.
Bukayo Saka 5
It was yet another disappointing performance from the Arsenal youngster, whose rapid downfall continues. Saka failed to provide a new spark to the attack and should not have gotten the nod ahead of Mesut Ozil.
SUBSTITUTES
Matteo Guendouzi 7
Replaced the ineffective Ceballos in the 54th minute and provided the much-needed enthusiasm and energy. But, he was helpless in stopping Vitoria from salvaging a point.
Alexandre Lacazette 6.5
Came on for Saka in the 65th minute but just like Martinelli, Lacazette began to get isolated. His strength did give him an upper hand in physical duels, however.
Lucas Torreira N/A
A late replacement for Willock.
