Martin's Moment of Magic fends off Burnley Battering

Coming off the back of a 1-0 win against Norwich, the Gunners travelled to Turf Moor in the hopes of making it 2 on the trot against Burnley. In the end, it was a Martin Odegaard free kick that claimed the 3 points for the Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta – 5.5

Lining up in a 433 with 2 CAMs and a box-to-box CM would spur someone to think that Arsenal would come out on the front foot early and look to create a gap at half time. However, that was one of the most dull performances I’ve seen. The ball was moved so slowly when in possession that it was almost unwatchable. The structure of the team in possession was just absurd – Tierney would play at LW, Saka would move to RCAM, Smith-Rowe was picking up the ball at LB: it was just a shambles. Barely any play through the middle of the pitch killed the chances of any meaningful attack. Arteta got the tactics all wrong.

The attack as well. Oh my goodness. I don’t know if it’s overcoached, undercoached or even coached at all but it seems like no matter what the numbers advantage or no matter the situation, we have a severe inability to create a meaningful shooting opportunity.

Aaron Ramsdale – 8.5

This man isn’t just knocking on the door of Bernd Leno, he is kicking it down and demanding answers. A brilliant performance where he was commanding in the air, calm in possession and overall dominant. I was fully confident in his abilities when the ball was being crossed in and he was reliable when called upon to make a save. 2nd clean sheet in 2 Premier League games… can he come out as the first choice goalkeeper?

Takehiro Tomiyasu – 8

What. A. Signing. He was everywhere for 90 minutes. Didn’t lose an aerial duel. Didn’t lose a duel. Most touches in the game. 5 ball recoveries… the list goes on. Don’t forget the clean sheet either, he's 2nd in 2 games. What an amazing start to his Arsenal career.

Ben White – 6

The only thing keeping him from a below average score is the clean sheet. Other than that, he was very poor. Took way too much time in possession, was sloppy when he had the ball and very nearly cost the team a goal and the three points. Without Gabriel covering for him, I doubt that we would have walked out of Turf Moor with any points.

Gabriel – 8.5

Absolutely mega. Mega performance. Crosses? Dealt with. Through balls? Dealt with. Someone about to shoot? Flung himself at the ball as if his life depended on it. So in other words… dealt with. Only slipped up once, which luckily didn’t result in a goal. Has been brilliant since returning from injury, adding a 2nd clean sheet from 2 Premier League games.

Kieran Tierney – 7

Apart from the fact that he spent most of the game at LW (which I think is a result of Arteta’s instructions, freeing Tierney from blame), he did well. Got a clean sheet and nothing came down the left hand side.

Emile Smith-Rowe – 6

Quite a poor performance from him in all honesty. Couldn’t really influence the game in a major way but also had some good opportunities to either start a big chance or finish it; both cases in which he underhit the ball. An uncharacteristically poor performance from him this season.

Thomas Partey – 8

It was quite a good performance from Partey. In defence, he often dropped in between White and Gabriel to create a back 5, whereas he was solid and reliable in possession. He even attempted an unnecessary long shot and that’s how you know he is fully fit.

Martin Odegaard – 9

Brilliant performance from Odegaard. He was a constant feature in possession and dictated the flow of play of the game. Didn’t stop running until the final whistle blow: I am fully convinced that he runs off whatever the Danish version of Unleaded 96 is. A brilliant free kick from around 25 yards out that claimed the 3 points for Arsenal. It’s nice to know that we have a constant free kick taker now. Not just a constant one, but a good one too.

Nicolas Pepe – 6.5

Sometimes I think to myself, ‘wow, this man is deadly with the ball at his feet’. Other times I think to myself, ‘this has to be one of the worst prolific dribblers’. Today was the latter. He seemed clunky on the ball and couldn’t really spark anything.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6.5

In all honesty, I think I’d like to see Lacazette start again soon. Aubameyang’s pace in behind is what we are looking for, but it doesn’t seem that it works well with the other attackers. I am interested to see what a hold up player like Lacazette can do.

Bukayo Saka – 5.5

In all honesty he has not at all had a good start to the season. He ghosted in this game. Yes it is hard to find the ball when Kieran Tierney is practically playing your position for you, but you need to be finding the ball in general. We need more from him.

SUBSTITUTIONS:

Albert Sambi Lokonga – 7

He came on and dictated the game, as he was meant to. A sturdy performance.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 7

Good to see him back on the pitch. He was also quite good in possession and did well with the minutes he was given.

Nuno Tavares – 6.5

Wasn’t on for as long as the others, but he looked lively both in defence and when attacking. A good performance.

MAN OF THE MATCH:

Martin Odegaard – 9

Who else?