Noni Madueke bright as 4/10 struggles – Arsenal player ratings vs Liverpool
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has a fresh injury worry, but was able to give Eberechi Eze his first minutes in a Gunners shirt in defeat at Liverpool.
Liverpool narrowly won the contest 1-0 thanks to a perfect free-kick by Dominik Szoboszlai with seven minutes remaining.
Despite the defeat, Arteta can take positives from the match, although just the one shot on target will concern the Gunners boss.
Below are how the Arsenal players fared in defeat at Anfield.
William Saliba injury worry as Riccardo Calafiori steps up
David Raya – 6
Played too risky a pass which Virgil van Dijk intercepted, and thankfully for the Spanish goalkeeper, Liverpool could not take advantage of the situation. Not overly tested and could do nothing to keep out Szoboszlai’s stunning free-kick.
Jurrien Timber – 6
Good display from the full-back, doing what he was tasked to do well and keeping Cody Gakpo quiet. Picked up an injury towards the end of the match.
William Saliba (Off for Cristian Mosquera 5′) – 6
Suffered an early injury and replaced just five minutes into the contest.
Gabriel – 7
Led the back four well following the early injury to William Saliba, not letting that effect his game.
Riccardo Calafiori – 7
Solid defensively and a threat going forward. A superb display to thwart Liverpool’s attack.
Arsenal midfield duo struggle to make impact
Mikel Merino (Off for Martin Odegaard 70′) – 5
Back in his usual midfield position, after a spell at striker at the end of the last campaign. Tenacious, but no impact on the match.
Martin Zubimendi – 5
Bypassed too easily on occasions, committed a couple of fouls and ended up in the referee’s book towards the end of the game. Needs to improve for the big occasion.
Declan Rice – 7
A couple of overhit set-piece deliveries which is unlike Declan Rice and let Liverpool off the hook at times at Arsenal’s most dangerous attacking situations. Overall though Rice made a couple of important blocks and covered plenty of ground.
Noni Madueke (Off for Max Dowman 89′) – 8
Showed his blistering pace when he burst pace Milos Kerkez on a couple of occasions. Tested Alison with a half-volley which needed pushing round the post by the goalkeeper. Looked a threat, and a bright spark.
Gabriel Martinelli (Off for Gabriel Martinelli 70′) – 4
Ineffective and out of the game, Gabriel Martinelli offered nothing for Arsenal here.
Viktor Gyokeres – 6
Received a lack of service, but Viktor Gyokeres put himself about well and showed signs that he could hold the ball up well against a colossal defender like Virgil van Dijk.
Eberechi Eze can’t savour Arsenal point
Substitutes
Cristian Mosquera (On for William Saliba 5′) – 7
An early introduction for Mosquera, who signed from Valencia in the summer. An impressive performance in such a big game.
Eberechi Eze (On for Gabriel Martinelli 70′) – 6
On his first appearance for Arsenal, Eberechi Eze had a penalty shout waved away and could not salvage a late point.
Martin Odegaard (On for Mikel Merino 70′) – 5
Was a doubt for this match, and only managed to make the bench and came on to no effect to swing the contest in Arsenal’s favour.
Max Dowman (On for Noni Madueke 89′) – 6
The 15-year-old got stuck into the action at the end, but could not create the equaliser.