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[Player Ratings] Arsenal 1-1 Atletico Madrid: Lacazette excellent, Koscielny blows it

By mac14 on April 26, 2018

Some shocking defending from Arsenal gifted 10-man Atletico Madrid a 1-1 draw after we wasted numerous chances to take control of our Europa League semi-final.

Madrid were down to ten men from the 9th minute but we squandered countless chances and didn’t break the deadlock until the 60th minute when Lacazette headed home.

However, we continued to waste opportunities to kill the game and in true Arsenal style, we gave Madrid an undeserved equaliser on a plate late on thanks to some woeful defending from Mustafi and in particular, Koscielny.

Here are my ratings:

Ospina 7/10 | Big save to deny Griezmann at 0-0 and good with the ball at his feet. Made a decent initial save before Griezmann scored the killer late goal.

Bellerin 7.5/10 | A very positive performance from Hector. Heavily involved down the wing and put some great crosses in the box.

Mustafi 6.5/10 | Was having a comfortable night but just had to slip at the crucial moment to allow Griezmann to score. Needed more composure.

Koscielny 5/10 | Like Mustafi, had very little to do until he bottled it at the crucial moment. Absolutely shocking defending to gift them a late goal. Needs to be replaced this summer.

Monreal 7.5/10 | Plenty of threat in the final third and was always an outlet. However, crucially played Griezmann onside for his goal.

Xhaka 8/10 | Another fine display in what was one of his best performances in an Arsenal shirt, especially in the second half. Needs to cut out the long shots though!

Ramsey 7/10 | Involved in some fine build-up play and tried to be a nuisance in the box. Saw a header superbly saved by Oblak late on and it wasn’t his night.

Wilshere 6.5/10 | Pretty poor first half when he missed a great chance with a header but lovely cross for Lacazette to open the scoring. Still not back to his best.

Ozil 7/10 | Excellent in the first half when he dominated the game but dropped after the break. Needed more from his during the last 30 minutes when we needed to kill the game.

Welbeck 7.5/10 | Saw a couple of chances well saved during an excellent opening 45 minutes. Not as influential after the break but another positive outing until he lost possession in the build up to their goal.

Lacazette 8.5/10 | Missed a couple of great early chances but opened the scoring with a fine header. Worked his socks off up front and was always a threat. Our best player on the night.

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WATCH THE GOALS FROM ARSENAL 1-1 ATLETICO MADRID

So this was very much a typical Arsenal game in Europe. We dominated the game, had countless chances to pretty-much put the tie to bed and should probably have won 4-0. However, a lack of ruthlessness in the final third and one lapse in concentration at the back leaves us with a mounting to climb.

Atletico haven’t conceded a single goal in their last 11 home games and have only conceded 4 league goals at home all season! Arsenal need to score at least once but judging on how bad our defence is, we’ll probably need to score 2/3/4 to qualify so it’s going to be extremely difficult.

A huge opportunity missed tonight. Not looking forward to Man Utd away on Sunday….