Premier League: Arsenal vs Wolverhampton Player Ratings

A win for Arsenal against 14th place Wolves would propel the Gunners into 6th place. So for those of you who are new to this: we don’t win.

It wasn’t all bad though. A few questionable calls by the referees and a few individual blunders left us licking our wounds.

Mikel Arteta - 7

From his role, he did well. The tactics were obviously working well before the red card on the brink of half time. Arteta fielded a strong squad and did all that he could to put Arsenal in the best position to win.

Leno - 4

Bernd. Oh Bernd. When you perform so well week in week out there is, in many cases, a mistake lurking around the corner. But what a way to do it. An obvious lapse of judgement saw the German walk off with a red card. The most concerning thing now is with him suspended for 3 games and Ryan temporarily injured, Runarsson will have to start: and we all know how that worked out last time.

Bellerin - 6.5

Bellerin had a decent game. At times in possession he was sloppy, similar to his previous games. Had to work with multiple different defensive pairings but managed to hold his own in certain situations.

Holding - 7

Holding had another good game in an Arsenal shirt - something that is beginning to become a trademark theme. He was solid at the back and couldn’t do anything to deny both of Wolves’ goals.

David Luiz - 7

Now my initial reaction to that Luiz red card on the brink of half time is far from appropriate for this blog. However, upon review, the Brazilian really couldn’t do anything different - he didn’t make a tackle at all. The red card was proposterous. Other than that, Luiz performed well alongside Holding as we have seen in previous matches.

Cedric - 7.5

I get less and less anxious about the absence of Kieran Tierney the more I see Cedric play. He had another good game contributing both in defence and offence. Would love to see him incorporated on the right side of defence when Tierney returns.

Xhaka - 8

Granit Xhaka again was a defensive midfield dynamo. Controlled play well, won back the ball, was solid in all parts of the pitch. In my opinion, he has cemented his spot in the midfield for matches to come.

Partey - 6.5

Partey played alright. There was no real standout performance from him tonight, but that’s not to write him off. During the first half especially, he moved the ball and kept possession well. He also did well in defence at times, although (for Xhaka as well) there is only so much you can do with 9 men.

Smith-Rowe - 7

The youngster again impressed - especially in the first half. Our free flowing, possession based attacking football made it a field day for Emile, allowing him to play for his strengths. Of course, there was not as much attacking in the second half, but overall he did well.

Pepe - 8

I am liking Pepe on the left. In his three starts at LM, he has scored 3 goals and continues to look deadly at all times. He did terrifically to run at defenders and challenge them and was rewarded with a stunning solo goal.

Saka - 7

Bukayo Saka found himself in all the right places but just couldn’t quite seem to convert. Within the first 10 minutes, he had hit the post, scored a goal (later ruled offside on Lacazette) and missed another chance. Had he put those away it would have been a completely different game, but it is very encouraging to see him find the ball and create chances.

Lacazette - 7

The Frenchman couldn’t really do much. In the first half of course, he was a pivotal point in possession and did his usual job of holding possession and bouncing off to his teammates. Being subbed off at half time to maintain defence was somewhat frustrating, however, it had to be done.