Arsenal vs Chelsea Player Ratings and Match Reaction

[HCZ_Reborn]

Ramsdale - 7 Good save from Chilwell, couldn’t do much about the Madueke goal


White - 6 Dwelt on the ball too long at times


Kiwior - 7 Decent debut start, looked a bit shaky at first but settled down well


Gabriel - 6 Looked a bit off the pace after pulling up, should have been brought off earlier


Zinchenko - 4 Just stop playing him


Jorginho - 8 - Shame he came off, just a tidy player


Xhaka - 7 - Not bad, looked to get forward well, unlucky not to get another goal


Odegaard - 8 - Back to near his best


Trossard - 7 - Dangerous on the left, would like a bit more goal contribution from him overall


Jesus - 7 - Takes chances, misses chances….sums him up


Saka - 6 - Wasteful needs to be dropped


Subs

Tierney
Martinelli
Holding
Partey

- 6 - Never really had chance to impose themselves on the game


Can’t complain too much given we’ve scored 81 goals this season, but sometimes it does feel like we take our knee off the throat too early sometimes. We could have buried Chelsea but we didn’t, and whilst they were never for me in any real danger of getting back into the game….it would have been nice to keep a clean sheet.

Changes were brought, and we looked more confident though it’s hard to tell if this was indicative of who we were up against. Expect Brighton to be a tougher match than this.

[Marc Overmars]

Yeah I thought Jorginho was decent too. Bit of a breath of fresh air from watching Partey play himself into trouble like he’s been doing lately.

I agree Saka needs to be dropped. I think his season is done, struggling to really make an impact now and he’s probably only playing in hope of some individual brilliance happening.

I think Newcastle will be the end of the road but hopefully we rally and produce something great, which will force City to be perfect from there on.

[mandela8]

Saka's standard hasn't dropped at all. He's been consistent all season. Eyes are simply, eventually, beginning to open.

I'm absolutely convinced he has leverage on Arteta.

[Mac76]

@HCZ good to see some more realistic scoring and agree with the comments

I really like Jorginho and Kiwior seemed tidy enough.

But I do hope Gabriel is ok for Sunday, as you say should def have been subbed earlier

I'd start that side again v Newcastle but with Tierney, Martinelli and Nelson for Zin, Jesus and Saka

[IBK]

Nice to have a win - and we played well in the first 60 minutes, but the question has to be asked whether this was partly down to Chelsea's ineptitude. Sunday will be a much sterner test.

I am pleased that Arteta rang the changes, and in particular that Kiwor was OK. He needed a game to be able to be considered for a start on Sunday, and I think he will be. I agree that Saka looks tired, and I would also start Nelson in his position for Sunday - with the option of bringing Saka on. I don't think Saka was as bad as some are making out, however, and I feel that the frustration is more that Arteta is continuing to hope that he will reproduce his earlier season form and refusing to rest him than anything else. Still, replacing both wide forwards last night might have been a change too many and I hope that Martinelli's little rest means that he will bang when we need him in 4 days time.

[HCZ_Reborn]

I don’t think Saka was awful, but if you’re of the view of Mandela this is just par for the course. If like everyone else in existence you think Saka is an immensely talented player who torments his full back and causes all kinds of uncertainty for back lines….but you also think that he’s not living up to those standards. He dropped off last season and didn’t start this season all that well.
I don’t know what that’s about but I certainly don’t think competition in that position would do him any harm. I think personally Martinelli is a more consistent performer and has this season anyway been better than Saka, it may be overall that he’s a better player but they are both excellent players who we are fortunate to have.

But I don’t like the idea of any player being undroppable be it Saka, Xhaka or Zinchenko.

[Mac76]

Just a thought, but while I think Arteta's reluctance to drop Saka is mostly his characteristic intransigence, I was also wondering whether, with some of the world's biggest clubs allegedly having their eye on him, he is worried about annoying Saka at all and lessening his desire to stay at Arsenal?

[Marc Overmars]

Saka just looks a little spent to me. He’s been at the centre of so much good this season, moments that have swung games in our favour but right now he could do with being taken out the firing line.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

If our leader could switch on his thinking bulb, he could easily give Saka a rest by playing Trossard there.... he did it in a particular game and the world did not cave in.

However as much as his form has dropped, I'd rather put Jesus on the bench, play Trossard through the middle and give Saka 45 mins to do his thing. Nelson coming in as a sub for him in the next half is ok. Or even brining in Jesus as an impact sub (Trossard would then move to the Saka position).

He broke Saka mentally and physically by playing him 90 mins over and over again, even when jt was clear he was struggling with the unrelenting limelight and pressure.

Even Messi was managed properly in his early days, hardly playing 90 mins every single match.

Youngsters of nowadays are weaker, few are mentally and physically as tough as Ronaldo was at that age.

[mandela8]