Arsenal 0-1 PSG Player ratings and Match Reaction

[HCZ_Reborn]

Raya 7 - Some of his distribution was poor but he made two crucial saves


Timber 5 - And I think that’s generous, responsible for the first goal and could have cost us a second


Saliba 6 - Marshalled Dembele well but didn’t give Rice any help


Kiwior 5 - Did nothing majorly wrong but doesn’t have it at this level


Lewis-Skelly 7 - One of the few outfield players who had any balls


Rice 4 - We bought him to snuff out danger, he’s been (in my view) rather needlessly pushed too far up the pitch where unless he has time and space he lacks the technique, strength or pace to play. He wasn’t helped by Merino or the defence, on nights like these it’s shown starkly that West Ham saw us coming a mile off.


Merino 4 - Embarassingly poor, made to look like a championship player by Fabian Ruiz who isn’t that great himself


Odegaard 3 - A cowards performance by a true coward who is so scared of making a mistake or getting hurt that he’s reverted within himself. I argued against stripping him of the captaincy and whilst I wouldn’t give it to Rice (maybe Gabriel) I think I’ve revised that decision


Martinelli 5 - Another coward, cut inside rather than take on his man. Should have scored in the first half


Trossard 6 - Tried hard but gave us all the evidence we need that we should part company in the summer


Saka 5 - Clearly not fit, I disagree with people who say it wasn’t a foul…he pushed Nunes off balance before winning the ball, because he wasn’t quick enough to get to the ball first



Subs


White/Nwaneri - 6 - One was brought on for an injury, one wasn’t given enough time to do anything



I don’t know whether the players simply aren’t good enough or whether the coach is to blame for apalling tactics, either way Arteta is fully responsible as these are his players and along with the humiliation in the league…any right minded club would dispense with his services this summer. We simply cannot afford to waste more money on the whim of a deeply inferior coach.


A midfield of Vitinha, Neves and Ruiz is nothing special but we made them look like they were Xavi, Iniesta and Zidane. The players should be deeply ashamed of themselves, Odegaard needs to question whether he has a future in the game. Rice might want to consider whether he should have identified as trans and joined the women’s game, because he played like a woman yesterday.


They frankly make me sick and that Lego haired sociopath makes me the most nauseous. Our most important game in 16 years and we mince about like a bunch of fairies. That shouldn’t be taken as homophobic because most gay men have more testosterone than was on display from us last night.

Anyone kidding themselves this tie isn’t dead, needs to stick their head in a bucket of cold water in the hope that the sharp temperature drop brings them back to reality. We fucked it.


A revolver and a bottle of whiskey should be left in Arteta’s office (figuratively or literally, I don’t really give a fuck right now)

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

...I see a goodnight's rest hasn't calmed you down yet.

Disagree with the high rating for Raya and the low ratings for Rice ( who clearly played deeper) and Merino, who suffered the same fate.

Well, I am still positive that turning this around in Paris is not beyond us as the PSG side I saw yesterday is still the kind of team we will beat on a day Arteta's system works. But I will budge on the quality of their attacking players, as they are clearly above ours , with only Saka getting into that team.


ATM I am only worried about the way we will respond in the next few games as it is important we head into the final tie with confidence and momentum.

Also its clear that we need to solve this Odegaard issue now as he can't stay undroppable when he clearly gives the team very little.

I am not saying we should drop him for the PSG game, but by now Arteta should realise that giving him undeserved playing time won't get him out of his rut and their needs to be a plan B, a notion he keeps struggling with.

[Marc Overmars]

For me we were simply outclassed and shown up for being overly reliant on stodging the game up. Partey being back in the second leg will help because it may enable Rice to drive further forward and force something to happen, like he did when he created the Trossard chance. This should be the job of Odegaard but I don’t know what the fuck he’s doing right now other than hiding in plain sight.

Clearly the early goal threw the entire evening off and we know we don’t have the firepower to really turn games around in a flash. Kvara is world class and Timber couldn’t get near him and was embarrassed quite frankly. He’s a player we should have tried to sign.

The tie is not dead on paper but in my mind it is.

Just want to see us give it all next week and not fade away into nothingness like we did at Bayern last year. If that happens again it would be unforgivable.

[HCZ_Reborn]

...I see a goodnight's rest hasn't calmed you down yet.

Disagree with the high rating for Raya and the low ratings for Rice ( who clearly played deeper) and Merino, who suffered the same fate.

Well, I am still positive that turning this around in Paris is not beyond us as the PSG side I saw yesterday is still the kind of team we will beat on a day Arteta's system works. But I will budge on the quality of their attacking players, as they are clearly above ours , with only Saka getting into that team.


ATM I am only worried about the way we will respond in the next few games as it is important we head into the final tie with confidence and momentum.

Also its clear that we need to solve this Odegaard issue now as he can't stay undroppable when he clearly gives the team very little.

I am not saying we should drop him for the PSG game, but by now Arteta should realise that giving him undeserved playing time won't get him out of his rut and their needs to be a plan B, a notion he keeps struggling with.

Playing deep is Rice’s natural position. He is a 6. Problem is he was too much of a girl to even try and put out the fires

Raya’s distribution wasn’t great but he stopped the result from being even more embarrassing that can’t be overlooked

PSG would be beatable if we were going there with a lead or even level. We can’t break teams down when they score first, and the game next week doesn’t start at 0-0, It starts at 0-1….they won’t come out…just like they didn’t really come out in the second half yesterday. They didn’t need to.

The sharp and refreshing hit of cold water will bring you back to reality. The tie is over. Any talk to the contrary is to be honest like Real Madrid’s claim about Remontada. Empty Hubris.

[Letters]

Raya’s distribution wasn’t great but he stopped the result from being even more embarrassing that can’t be overlooked

I don't think his distribution was bad, it's just we insist on him passing it short and playing out. I hate it.
The slightest mistake leaves you vulnerable. The times Raya did kick it long we often won the ball, so it's not like playing PepBall was more effective.

The tie is over. Any talk to the contrary is to be honest like Real Madrid’s claim about Remontada. Empty Hubris.

Nah. Not buying it. I mean, head says you're probably right but they were 3-0 down and we haven't been thumped by 3 goals for years, it was very unlikely to happen. Obviously I was still nervous on the night and an early goal could have made things interesting, but looking back it was vanishingly unlikely we were going to let a 3 goal lead slip. PSG aren't invincible, it's only one goal.

[HCZ_Reborn]

It’s got nothing to do with how good PSG are. They have the lead, they don’t have to come out and play. They can just smother us. We are done. It would be easier for people to accept this

[Letters]

It’s got nothing to do with how good PSG are. They have the lead, they don’t have to come out and play. They can just smother us. We are done. It would be easier for people to accept this

This is like the momentum argument. You can provide multiple examples where people thought we were dead and buried in a tie and they were correct, and I'm sure there are multiple examples where people said the same and we prevailed
I think you're more likely right than wrong, but I think throwing in the towel at 1-0 is somewhat premature. If they'd scored a second I'd be with you.

[IBK]

What happened last night was precisely what I was nervous about. I'm not presenting myself as an expert analyst here - because I think it was utterly predictable that PSG would come flying out of the traps, and how many times have we seen this Arsenal team sluggish and unfocussed, and concede as a result of this? It's immediately obvious when we start a game like this, and for all PSG's brilliance in the first 30 minutes, we were architects of our own downfall.

The way PSG were pinpoint crisp and energised in contrast to our waywardness in this period was plain to see. I was concerned before the game about Partey's absence in MF but I did not expect such a massive drop off with Merino there. Yes, we very much steadied the ship after 35/40, but even after we had done so, the same familiar failings - lack of finishing; ponderous build up in attack; lack of movement and off-form players were present and correct. We very nearly imploded altogether in the final period of the game.

It's easy to be wise after the event, I know, but the RM ties masked the frailties in our team that have been found out repeatedly in the league. RM's reputation masked the fact that they are a collection of individuals rather than a team now. PSG are the opposite - a finely honed machine with outstanding talent - and the nervousness our players showed in the first half in particular suggests to me that they knew this too - there was hardly the confidence that should have come from the 5-1 in our previous tie.

I was going to say that the idea PSG could be outmuscled by a more physical Arsenal side ignored their results against Liverpool and Villa, but the sad fact is that we basically had nothing else out there tonight. Leaving Nwaneri as sub until 88/89 was pointless and in my view a mistake - given how Odegard was stinking the place up, but the 2 subs we made were the only options before reverting to a bench of Academy players.

As 21GS says, at our very best, with all our players on song, I think we could have at least drawn this match. But barring MLS; Saliba; Kiwor and (for the most part, acknowledging both his mistake and his deeper role) Rice, we were nowhere near.

Who says we can't take league form into a cup comp? On paper we can turn this around in Paris, but the head says we won't. And we could be in jeopardy of a CL place next season with more dropped points against Bournemouth at the weekend, and Liverpool and Newcastle still to play in the league. Many said after the Palace game that the league is not important. Well it has made Saturday an absoulute nightmare with us having to face PSG again on Wednesday.

[HCZ_Reborn]

I think missing out on the CL would be a blessing in disguise. I don’t think Arteta survives that. And I have to say it would make this awful season worth it, to see him sacked.

[KSE Comedy Club]

Playing deep is Rice’s natural position. He is a 6. Problem is he was too much of a girl to even try and put out the fires

Raya’s distribution wasn’t great but he stopped the result from being even more embarrassing that can’t be overlooked

PSG would be beatable if we were going there with a lead or even level. We can’t break teams down when they score first, and the game next week doesn’t start at 0-0, It starts at 0-1….they won’t come out…just like they didn’t really come out in the second half yesterday. They didn’t need to.

The sharp and refreshing hit of cold water will bring you back to reality. The tie is over. Any talk to the contrary is to be honest like Real Madrid’s claim about Remontada. Empty Hubris.

Except the reason we were so good against Real is because Rice was playing as an 8 and making driving runs forward. Partey was sitting in the 6 role and mopping up their midfield.