After scoring just twice in their last 5 games, Arsenal finally came good with a 4-goal blitz that shocked the European Champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It was a great game, with perhaps dodgy defending from both sides, but a much-needed three points for the Glorious Gunners.
Aaron Ramsdale: 7
Couldn’t do too much for either Chelsea goal and the awful bounce from Werner’s deflected goal would have fooled anyone.
Ben White: 7
Solid performance against a tricky Chelsea attack.
Rob Holding: 7
Maybe not quite as solid as the other two, but considering his rustiness he was outstanding with help from his partners
Gabriel: 8
In the thick of things as always. Ran the defence.
Nuno Tavares 7
Great going forward and solid at the back. Why were we so worried about playing him?
Granit Xhaka: 8
Great game and could even be credited with making a goal from nothing when he dribbled out from the back.
Mohamed Elneny: 7
Can’t knock Mr Reliable. Should have played more often when Partey was ruled out. 90% successful pass rate
Emile Smith Rowe: 8
He shoots, he scores. ESR proved he can mix it with the best.
Martin Odegaard: 8
Great link up play and looked back to his best.
Bukayo Saka: 9
Great all-round play as Chelsea tried to bully him. No chance!
Eddie Nketiah: 9
Brilliant striker’s performance. If only he played like this every week. If only he played every week?
Substitutes:
Gabi Martinelli: 6
Didn’t really get into the game to be honest
Cedric: 7
Came on to shore up the defence. No complaints
Alex Lacazette: N/A
VIDEO – A great win for the Gunners at Stamford Bridge and Mikel Arteta was in an upbeat mood after the game…
Personally I thought holding was the best at the back ,Ben whites defending at times is comical .
Tavares and Elneny were my MOTM
We won but we didn’t actually play that well it was just that Chelsea were awful ,some of the goals were Sunday league stuff for both teams .
Onwards and onwards
Totally agree with you @DanKit. Elneny for me was a solid 8 out of 10. Usually puts in a workman like manner shift when he plays. I thought his effort was brilliant considering match time he’s had. May not be a world beater,, but wears the Arsenal badge with pride. Love his reactions when Arsenal ever concede a goal. As for Ramsdale’s ratings,, the jury is out
Dan, I thought we played for the badge last night and it was so good to see.
What stood out for me, was the performances of three men deemed as not good enough.
Xhaka was excellent.
Holding showed White how to defend and not keep diving.
But for me, the best performance of all, came from Elneny, ignored since his return from the African cup.
He just went around, doing his job in the quite, methodical way he always has done.
It was great to see him in the shirt again and, once again, full praise to Mikel, who got his selection spot on.
He should field the exact same starting eleven, but give Martinelli more time to expose the awful United CB situation.
More performances like this and we should be able to see progression at the end of the season.
No i agree it was a good watch (for a change )Ken and the players looked interested and up for it .
There is still something there that does not fill me with confidence for the next match ,let’s be honest Chelsea were awful and gifted us 2 goals but we took the chances and deserved the win that’s all that matters ,but I won’t get carried as as been my motto all season .
Regarding the players like you said the best for me were 2 of wengers signings and is Ben white any better than holding ?
Holding 26 years old -2 million
White 24 years old -50 million
Elneny was arguably Motm if not 2nd at best yet you still dare to give him a 7?!!!!
Ben White and Gabriel are no where near as good as Holding,plus he is the more experienced of the Three,just the way the manager has been reluctant to play Eddie he has chosen to ignore the qualities of Holding…so sad
Gabriel is the best player in Arsenal this season go and searched for it
You know
Arteta likes some players and they play,
some players doesn’t like, and they don’t play.
Elneny was the best player but Arteta most likely
wont play him again.
No disrespect to holding…..white is a better defender.
Moreover, obviously white is better with the ball at his feet than any defender the team has ever had. And that is the basis to the success of our season so far (playing out from the back)🤝
I would say Luiz was lvl above white regarding playing out from the back
He was one of the best passers of the ball I’ve ever seen at the club and would also put his head and body into everything .something I have not seen white do as of yet .
I have said before, that if he plays, Holding should be the captain. Once he got over his ring rust he played really well against Chelsea.
I hate to say this, but in the cold light of day, I am not sure Eddie N will score again this season. I really hope I am wrong, but it is a feeling I have.
I feel vindicated, with ESR scoring again. It was by far our best goal. He should start in every game.
Elneny played well too, better option at the moment that Lokonga I feel.
I would play against United with ESR, Nellie and Saka as the front three, with Eddie to come on mid second half.
The three at the back seemed to work well, and I would continue with that formation, although I am worried how we will defend Sancho. He is quick and skillful. I am not sure I want Tavares to mark him.
Still, we can certainly beat Man Utd, and I hope we can get up for the match, it would so nice to rub their noses in it!!!
PS, I think Ramsdale is looking a little frayed around the edges. Might be time to look at Leno again.
Not sure I care how the goals were scored or how good or bad Chelsea was. All that matters is that we’ve got the 3 points. The only thing for me is that I’m not really excited cos we’ve seen many times when our team players excellently well and then the next couple of games, they’re nothing but wack. I only hope that they can put together a string of similar performances like last night. The United game will tell us more
Holding was the best CB
Ben White came last behind Gabriel and Holding
I agree, I sometimes wonder how White gets such high scores when he looks so shaky in defending.
He seems an average defender who has good technique and passing. Not his fault Arsenal spend 50 million, but last game I thought Holding looked more steady and solid than White.
I admit never been a fan of White when we needed the money spent in the midfield. Alas, his performances this year have not changed my mind.
Agreed Dan! A win is a win! There’s still tricky games for us Tottenham and Chelsea. Chelsea look shaky and as we know with football anything is possible! There run in is not an easy one and I’m sure all team will drop points between now and the end of the season. 3rd place anyone…
Totally agree with you @DanKit. Elneny for me was a solid 8 out of 10. Usually puts in a workman like manner shift when he plays. I thought his effort was brilliant considering match time he’s had. May not be a world beater,, but wears the Arsenal badge with pride. Love his reactions when Arsenal ever concede a goal. As for Ramsdale’s ratings,, the jury is out
Nketiah’s high press, pace and finishing were magnificent! He isn’t much of a pivot, but he seems to have learned a lot from Lacazette and Aubameyang
Playing Saka as an inverted RWB is a very smart move by Arteta. This makes Saka able to cut inside as Cancelo usually does from the LB position
Gai, I have always said everything rises and falls on coaching tactitics and selection. We won ultimately because Arteta got it right. The new players he brought in helped the team and he played to Tavares strength. Now I hope he knows when to switch to get results in the remaining 6 matches because that’s what great manager do. 7 rating for Ramsdale too high in my opinion he didn’t do much and Holding deserved more especially in 2nd half.
I think Arteta surprised Tuchel with the new setup, but it’s only matter of time until the oppositions crack the tactic. It’s similar to the formation he used in 2020 to win the FA Cup
Ramsdale conceded yet another easy goal. Whereas Holding’s first touches in the first thirty minutes were generally sloppy, luckily Xhaka managed to link up with Odegaard to make Smith-Rowe’s goal
Agree, Arteta got it absolutely right with the tactics. He learned from the best. Utilizing Saka as he did was a masterclass imo.
Tavares can also cut inside from the left wing, but his shots were mostly over the bar. If he can brush up his shooting skills, he could be a good attacking wingback
It is only an idealist or utopian that can expect 100% from any game. Every player will have his weak and strong points. However a player is judged based on which traits are exhibited more, the weak or the strong ones.
Back to last night’s game, the team was well drilled and up to it. They were all very good without exception. It is unfair to single out any player for condemnation. All were solid. Thanks to the manager for making good team selection and the players for being up to it.
SOME OF THE POSTS ABOVE, INCLUDING FROM VERY LONG TIME AND EXPERIENCED GOONERS , WHICH PRAISE ELNENY AND SAY HE WAS THE BEST PLAYER ARE TRULY LUDICROUS.
HE DID HAVE A SOLID GAME BUT THE BETTER PLAYERS WERE ALL IN ATTACK AND CREATIVE POSITIONS. Our entire defence was shaky in the whole first half, though much better in the second But our forward and creative players were all ours stars last night for certain!
To pick out “Elneny as our best” is beyond ludicrous, isn’t it Ken!!
Jon, I didn’t think you gave a damn about my opinion!?!?
Just read the comments above regarding Elneny and it’s plain to see that, in this game, he was appreciated 100% and was the player that we lacked in our previous three defeats…. just my opinion of course.
Perhaps seeing him in our shirt, has been to much for you, especially after saying he would never wear it ever again.
I hope you predict Pepe will never wear the shirt again and then we might see why the club paid so much for him when he actually does.
Ouch!!
Personal issues with half of our players, and in the front line preaching about support. Conditional support is yours.
You are just bitter he has proved you wrong and his performance might have just saved our season.
Always on the wrong side of things. Perhaps if you just cared about results and not some people you would have always been on the right like everybody else.
You gave a very good story about your father and the Japanese a while back. So valuable was the lesson of your story that I have adopted it as one of my life philosophies. Shame you don’t seem to follow it yourself.
HH, you’ve been on JA long enough to know that, the type of person Jon “thinks” he is and what he “really” is are 2 completely different things.
Ok I’m beyond ludicrous then and proud of it!
Elneny had a great game. This type of game was also tailored made for him. His is a no frills, 5 yard passer; who therefore has fantastic passing statistics. He also has great energy and is effective at breaking up opposition play.
It is in games like this when Arsenal have little possession and he does not have to play progressive football that his strengths are apparent.
In games where we are expected to dominate possession his limitations are apparent and his inability to progress play are all too apparent.
I have an idea maybe we should change the name process to the Marshall plan 11.
Am realizing some genuine Arsenal fans are struggling with the name. So I have come up with this name due to the recent clearing out of the deadwood and the pending rebuilding that is expected come this summer.
Being not the greatest fan of the gaffer but I must admit he has shown signs of a strong leader.
Elneny is always decent !
So utterly underated by our own fans ..
It’s sad ..
A great squad player at the very least and even starting eleven , him and Partey played great together at old Trafford last season ..
I’d offer him a new contract for sure , loves the club and we need a few more experienced heads !
Hear hear – well said sir!!!
Fully agree with you Mac.
Elneny isn’t a flamboyant player but he’s a no-nonsense hard working and reliable midfielder. Would love to have him in the squad next year.
Holding and Cedric are also underrated by Arsenal fans in my opinion.
Cedric isn’t great defensively but gosh he brings a lot offensively and fits in perfectly in a 3-4-3 formation.
Holding is also a good defender.
These 3 are seem to have a great mentality, are team players not causing any trouble in the dressing room.
The gaffer now has to be consistent, the last time Eleney played like this it was at old Trafford where we won 1 nil and Eleney then disappeared.
In congratulating him after the
game the gaffer said he prefers players with zero ego
On Saturday it will be the same opponent where he had his best performance this season,
Not blessed with the technical abilities as most of his team mates, he is mobile, experienced and will gives his all in front of the faithful on Saturday.
The gaffer will be hard pressed to leave him off the team sheet, the last time I had seen him played at the office he was given a standing ovation, after seen running and closing down deep in extra time.
We will win with Another 9/10 from Mo
Elneny MOM for me with Saka and Nketiah close seconds.
Masterstroke from Mikel Arteta changing his formation and setting up his team to beat Chelsea. He brought the best out of his players. And it is clear from Grant Xhaka’s interview how he outsmarted Tuchel. Yet some “pundits” on just arsenal seem to be experts. Claiming that the players performed well and it had nothing to do with the manager.
It is also quite amazing how these “pundits” seem to forget how Elneny performed under Emery and Wenger. How the same pundits wanted him to go. Nevermind how Rob Holding kept making costly mistakes when given the chance. Or just a few weeks ago the Flip Flops were saying Eddie should be sold cause he is also not good enough. All of a sudden it is the Manager’s fault because they played well for one game. Yet every pundit and journalist could see that Tuchel was simply outsmarted and underestimated Mikel Arteta. This is what Xhaka said: “It was a great team performance, tactically amazing, and it was a big three points for us.” Tactically amazing? I wonder whose tactics those were🤔🤔
Seems like the highlights only brigade are out in full force again. Anyone saying Holding was our best cb clearly didn’t watch the whole game. Man could and maybe should have been dragged off at half time. He was awful for 65 70 mins. Mom Granit Xhaka
It’s ridiculous the way some fans underestimate some of our wins giving excuses like the opponents gave away the game.
Before making such cynical and unfounded statements, try to listen to post-game interviews from the managers and players to understand some of the decisions and in-game changes that were made. I could see dark circles under Arteta’s eye yesterday and could imagine the amount of tactical organization and tinkering he’s been doing in the last few weeks.
Tuchel in his interview owned up to how we changed tactics and our set up like 3 times during the game. We basically outwitted Chelsea tactically and made them look stupid. Did anyone notice how Saka was always in the box to defend and nulify the threat that Chelsea wingback often pose when they attack given their numerical advantage? The lay fans out there who constantly whine and jeer Xhaka would forget in a hurry how he constantly took instructions from the touch line and transmitted it to his teammates. There is a reason players and managers rate him highly. There’s a technical side to the game that goes beyond running like an headless chicken with the ball, which is what some fans on this forum want. Such fans won’t appreciate his role in the second goal where he brought the ball out from our 18 yard box and laid it to Saka to set up Odegaard and finally ESR who passed the ball to the back of the net effortlessly.
The gaffer has made some mistakes in the last few games but he got his tactics spot on yesterday. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see we needed some steel and experience at the back and in the middle of the park.
Bringing back Rob Holding (who rarely has a bad game against Chelsea and Elneny who has been instrumental to our famous wins against top 6 sides is no mere coincidence (remember his MoM performance at Old Trafford where he ran himself to the ground and kept closing down the opposition till the final whistle). For those that watched African Cup of Nations, we saw he played every minutes and hardly put in a wrong foot. Those are the kind of characters we need going into our last 6 games. I definitely agree with previous comments that he shouldn’t be dropped, at least for our next game against United.
My main worry is Ben White who just can’t keep making comical mistakes. If there’s anything I love about Saliba, it’s his physical attribute and robustness, he doesn’t fall to the ground easily after a challenge. It’s the opponents that come out worse. I watched their last game over the weekend against PSG, so I know what I am saying. The first duty of a defender is to defend not pass the ball around like a number 10. We need more steel in defence as White is too light weight in 50-50 challenges, not in tackless as he can tackles strongly. Holding is the traditional no-nonsense defender who can fill in temporarily. Besides, he is a big game player and dominant aerially.
Glad Partey is back to the gym and should be available in 3 weeks for our last 2-3 games (Spurs be ready). Tomiyasu is back too.
We need the experience of Holding and Elneny, and of course Xhaka in these last crucial games. Play to their strength and this gives the youngster freedom to do their job in the final third, which is scoring goals and putting smile on our faces like they did yesterday. COYG!
Strongly agree with you Dendrite, for the most part.
Remember Ben White was not playing in his natural position.
Great Post Dendrite.
Love to know what you are smoking, the experience of Holding and Elneny, that is funny,, but mind you, you know what you are saying, what club do you manage again with your expertise of defending?
Think you are a little harsh and the guys, Xhaka and Eleney were the spine in that winning midfield,
Before the match I was asking what has become of those one and two through passes and 30 yards screamers we had become accustomed from Xhaka,
Well only the screamers was missing, maybe it has been reserve for Saturday
Xhaka, Elneny, Holding, are probably the most underrated players we have. Especially and criminally, Elneny, then Xhaka and Holding in the right order.
Elneny, I feel for the guy sometimes. He, alongside Xhaka, might be the most passionately gunners that we have in our squad. They would happily play for the club till their retirements, if only the fans appreciate what they do. It’s kinda sad actually.
Add Chambers to that group before he left for Villa.
Strongly agree with you
Only some of the fans, it seems, don’t appreciate Xhaka and Elneny, Daulat.
All your points are valid and I feel more confident that Mikel will certainly use Elneny more, after last night’s MOM display.
Passing backwards and sideways isn’t MOTM material, Elneny is just not good enough and to believe he is, is quite absurd. Xhaka is another below-average player also. There is no creativity in either player, no match-winning performances either, name me one game where either player has won us a game. To contend with those two for Arsenal is quite laughable.
Passing sideways and backwards. I’ve heard this line a gazillion times and couldn’t made out what it meant. POSITIONING. Let me repeat POSITIONING is very vital to a football match. Especially from midfielders. What Elneny and Xhaka provided today was just that. Nothing fancy, just good positioning. And that was vital. If you expect Ronaldinho like skills from midfielders then that’s your problem. I expect stability from them and so I’m happy. They provided that. Especially, Xhaka, he gave it all. He had lost everything a footballer can expect after his debacle with the fans when he was red carded. The fight he showed today was exemplary in my books.
Yes sure. It all came right for once. Play this pair together over a season and you’ll have what? Mid table at best. Put them on the market and you’ll be lucky to get 30 million pounds for the pair, which is why they are still both at Arsenal.
The only thing with Granit is that he has a self-destruct mechanism that can’t help but go off by times. If we could take that button out somehow…when he is playing well (and that is most of the time imho) we play better. It is just that damned button!
it’s not sad, of course they would be happy to remain with Arsenal because no one else would pay the money they are on, passionate do me a favour, they haven’t got it. For us to move forward, players like these two have to go, if you are contend with their average performances, good for you, but most of us want us back to winning ways and competing for titles.
I agree with you @Gunsmoke that he played in his less favored position, but my worry is he loses concentration at crucial moment, the Soton game being an example and earlier in the season.
The problem is opponents will continue to target him and try to exploit his weakness in 50-50 situations and drop his characteristic dip in concentration level and rash decision making.
The gaffer needs to replay those clips to him where he makes poor decisions and ball watching to keep him on his toes (sure they are doing that already).
Honestly I have seen these mistakes too, hopefully he improves with the price tag slowly forgotten
Both teams were poor in defence, Ramsdale seems to gone off the boil, Elneny is a bang-average player, and Xhaka is not good enough for Arsenal. Chelsea were poor and gifted us three goals. We lost three games against teams we should have beaten. This is still work in progress, and for us to move forward players like Cedric,Xhaka,Elneny are not good enough.
that is too harsh on Elneny – I would certainly keep him as a back up – he obviously is a professional because there is never a peep about playing time, just does his job. When he is called upon by Egypt he is a really strong performer. Whenever we ask him to play he does his job.
Xhaka would be good enough without the self-destruct button (and you can fairly say – but the button is there so bug off :-)), we play better when he is in form.
Cedric seems to be a pro and could come in and do a job when needed. We have to have at least two decent spare fullbacks (if we want to play with a 4) because Tierney and Tomi will not be able to go for long stretches every year.
Delighted with the win but it makes me wonder “what if “MA hadn’t gone all Pep on us in the last few games,and gone for like for like replacements instead of playing Xhaka as LB or played Elneny instead of Sambi.
Great ratings 👌🏾
Granit was Man of the match for me. He and Eddie, and Mo and Bukayo. Infact, everyone did great on the night.
We really should get behind this team more often than not. Come end of the season these boys including our rookie manager would have learnt and gotten much needed experience against the coming seasons. The future is bright for us. COYGOONERS.
Holding has always had a bum deal from too many our fans who tend to highlight his every error and blame him soley for defeats which were due to poor team efforts. Instead they tend to gloss on the emperor’s New Clothes, Mr Ben White for whatever reason either because he is Arteta’s man or his price tag. How much better would Arsenal’s squad now be if that money had been better spent where it was needed.
Chelsea tried to bully him, intimidate him but Saka as usual was brilliant and unstoppable. The press from the forwards is so important in Arteta’s game plan. It not only stifles opposition attacks but creates scoring opportunities. Great performances from Nketiah, ESR, Holding, Tavares, Xhaka and Elneny. I feel MA should have played Elneny more often when Partey was not fit or injured, really a very reliable player. Sad though he may be leaving this summer but I always liked him whenever he played for us, played with pride and commitment. Hope MA sticks to this line up till the end of the season, if Tomiyasu returns, he walks straight back into the team, but there is no need to rush him back.
Admin Pat, you rated Elneny with a stereotypical mindset even though he was outstanding.
I rate Him 8.5 out of 10