CandH ratings man Niall McDonald hands out his marks
Fabianski: Little chance with either goal and a quieter evening than many would have expected 6
Cresswell: Far more comfortable in the back three, linked up with Masuaku and Fornals nicely 7
Diop: Some well-timed interceptions and blocks when it looked like he’d given opponents a head start 7
Ogbonna: Couple of early chances from set pieces and solid defending 7
Fredericks: Brilliant run and cross for the goal. Caught out position for the 2nd I felt 7
Soucek: Looked the best centre-midfielder on the field 8
Rice: Back to his usual level, hopefully the Newcastle game was a one-off 7
Masuaku: Surprise selection was justified with a very strong performance at left wing back 7
Bowen: Gave his all as usual this evening, didn’t quite manage a clear sight of goal 7
Fornals: Put in a real shift and kept the ball moving quickly 7
Antonio: Led the line superbly, first goal of the new campaign and hit the bar 8
Subs
Yarmolenko: Arsenal knew what was coming and gave him no chance to cut in on his left 4
Haller: On very late, committed 2 hefty fouls 2
Anderson: On even later, no impact No rating
The positive tonight was it was a far better performance which deserved a point. I was not confident and was very disappointed to see so few changes from the Newcastle game. Also the change in formation was a big plus. Despite the improved performance I just believe Moyes’s inability to see the changes that need to be made during the game is costing us hugely. The winning goal came from Fredericks inability to get close to his man. He looked out of gas for 10 mins before the goal. He stood off him and just let him play a simple ball in. I do not know how or what Moyes continues to see in him but it is costing us big time. The lad is totally out of his depth.. Moyes is not a proactive manager he reacts when we go behind. He should have made positive changes when we were on top. I could see why he selected Cresswell tonite but I think his time is up too. I think Moyes got the formation right but his performance on the line yet again was very average.
They would not have scored had Bowen been on the pitch. If choosing a substitution is a game changer, Moyes gets full marks from Arsenal. Yarmolenko doesn’t defend and dropped his mark for the final goal. The colour commentators called it right.
Liked the shape and how we played after the first 10 minutes.
Agree with JohnHam1 – Moyes owns this.
Completely agree, second goal was 100% down to Yarmolenko not going with the runner. Not Fredericks!