Arsenal were crushed 5-0 by Manchester City in the Premier League as Mikel Arteta’s side endured a chastening afternoon in the Mancunian sunshine at the Etihad Stadium.
Two goals in the opening 12 minutes and the dismissal of Granit Xhaka, 10 minutes before the break, were the lowlights of another miserable afternoon for the Gunners. It did not take long for City to capitalise on the one-man advantage, Jack Grealish danced his way into the box and along the by-line before pulling the ball back for Gabriel Jesus, who controlled the ball before slamming home from close-range.
A fourth from Rodri early in the second half merely extended the gulf between both the sides, before Ferran Torres’ second rounded off the Sky Blues’ delightful afternoon. This defeat for Arsenal made it three out of three at the start of the Premier League campaign, piling more pressure on Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal player ratings vs Manchester City
Bernd Leno- 5/10
Leno couldn’t really have done any better to save City’s first three goals. He made some key saves in the second half to keep the score at a respectable five. Undoubtedly Arsenal’s best player on a horrible afternoon.
Cedric Soares- 1/10
Cedric’s failure to clear a Bernardo Silva cross in the box saw Ferran Torres punish the Gunners. The Portuguese full-back had a torrid time against Joao Cancelo and Jack Grealish and looked hapless for City’s third when the former slalomed past him and squared Jesus for the tap-in.
Calum Chambers- 1/10
Missed the flight of the ball and lost Ilkay Gundogan—his marker—for the opening goal. Chambers’ positioning from then on was all over the place.
Rob Holding- 2/10
Didn’t do much better than Chambers and for someone who has a good stature to win aerial balls, at least, Holding was culpable for City’s fifth as he left Torres open for the tap in.
Kieran Tierney- 4/10
Tierney was limited to defensive duties against the irrepressible waves of City attacks. Hardly had chances to bomb down the left flank.
Sead Kolasinac- 2/10
Absolutely torn to shreds by whichever Manchester City attacker had the ball. Kolasinac still starting for Arsenal is an indictment of how far they’ve fallen in the last few years.
Granit Xhaka- 1/10
With Arsenal already trailing 2-0 after a calamitous start, Xhaka flew into a two-footed, reckless challenge on Joao Cancelo to earn a straight red card. When cooler and calmer heads were needed, the Swiss once again demonstrated his lack of temperament.
Bukayo Saka- 3/10
Ceded possession time and again when Arsenal went down to 10 men. He was taken off at the break with Mohamed Elneny replacing him.
Martin Odegaard- 4/10
Odegaard did everything he could and looked very lively in the opening five-six minutes of the game. Showed good energy to help Arsenal defensively but his efforts bore no fruits.
Emile Smith Rowe- 3/10
Just like Odegaard, Smith Rowe looked promising and showed intent to make things happen. However, as the game went on, his influence dwindled. Came agonizingly close to pulling one back in the early minutes after taking advantage of Ederson’s mistake.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang- 2/10
Rarely touched the ball in the first half and after the Gunners lost Xhaka, the Gabonese was non-existent. A passenger on the day and made way for Lacazette in the second half.
Substitutes
Mohamed Elneny- 2/10
Came on for Saka in the second half. He could’ve done a lot better to stop Rodri from scoring.
Alexandre Lacazette – 2/10
Completely isolated up front after replacing Aubameyang. Lacazette rarely ever saw the ball.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 2/10
Maitland-Niles replaced Odegaard in the 71st minute to add some protection to the Arsenal backline that was getting ripped apart from everywhere. He tried his best but to no avail.
