Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard have had completely different starts to the new season with Arsenal
Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard have had completely different starts to the new season with Arsenal(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
View Image
Arsenal have started the season well despite their last result bringing the mood back down to Earth with a hard thud. The defeat at Brighton ended a run of seven straight victories and prevented equalling a record of wins that has stood for 123 years.
Mikel Arteta may not be top of the Premier League table entering the first international break of the season, a unique extended run of two weekends without club action, but his side have still been very strong despite the humbling on the south coast. They kicked off the season by beating Manchester City in the Community Shield, beating Napoli in the UEFA Champions League, beating Ipswich Town in the third round of the Carabao Cup and have won four of their five league matches this season, which included trips to Aston Villa and Sunderland, where they failed to win last season.
In each match football.london has given match ratings to the players and has been collating the players’ performances since the victory in Cardiff. Each display has provided a score out of ten, no half marks, which has given us an average across all eight games.
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE ! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
Some players have played more than others, while ratings for substitutes have not counted toward the overall mark, which, for example, does not include Bruno Guimaraes’ mark for his goal at Sunderland – this has therefore seen his mark adjusted and marked with an asterisk*. The same for Max Dowman, whose brilliant brace against Ipswich earned him a 9/10 score, but this is so far his only mark of the season.
Here is how the Arsenal players are currently assessed for the first eight games:
David Raya – The Spaniard has been showing exactly why he is considered one of the best stoppers in the world with his highlight coming against Sunderland, saving a penalty in the 2-0 win. However, he endured a tough game at Brighton (4) which has affected his overall score. 7
Kepa Arrizabalaga – His only game so far has been in the cup against Ipswich in which he conceded twice but didn’t have a bad game overall. 6*
Ben White – Disappointing to have got injured after a decent start to the season, his only poor display came at Sunderland although there were some frustrations over his passing in certain fixtures. 6.3
Jurrien Timber – Only just returned after recovering from a groin injury and looked very rusty with the rest of his team in the defeat to Brighton. 3*
Marli Salmon – His only game so far has been in the cup at Ipswich, and despite a couple of errors, he really impressed and did not look out of place at all, despite his young age. 7*
Cristhian Mosquera – A shame that he got injured after just thee games this season at Aston Villa because he was deputising very well in William Saliba’s stead. 7
Ezri Konsa – Since Mosquera’s injury, Konsa has come in and done well, although, like his other teammates, he had a stinker at Brighton (3), which has pulled his overall score for three starts down. 5.7
Gabriel – Another who has enjoyed a very strong start to the season but again whose rating at Brighton (3) brought it down again. A man of the match contender in the Community Shield (9) and scored a rating of eight against Chelsea, Napoli and Sunderland but that Seagulls affair saw his overall drop. But he remains one of the highest scorers. 7
Riccardo Calafiori – Like Gabriel the Italian has had an excellent start to the season racking up high scores, but then his displays against Sunderland and Brighton saw the overall drop down. 6.2
Piero Hincapie – Barely played any minutes but did well against Napoli when he was given a start. 7*
Declan Rice – Another standout season looks to be the case for the Arsenal midfield stalwart and the only player whose overall performance despite some late head-loss took much credit at Brighton. 7
Martin Zubimendi – His only start this season has come at right-back against Ipswich Town which for a £60million signing shows the depth in the Gunners’ midfield. 7*
Myles Lewis-Skelly – Will be in for a battle to keep his midfield place, but has a great chance to fight and has earned his place back in the England national team too. 6.7
Bruno Guimaraes – A great start, which was impacted by injuries, and then two very opposing performances against Ipswich and Brighton leaves the Brazilian with a point still to prove. 6
Mikel Merino – One start this season against Ipswich, in which he was excellent, but has yet to gain a start anywhere else, which buffs his rating for the season so far. 8*
Martin Odegaard – One of the stars of the season so far, with goals against Man City, Coventry and Chelsea while also great at Sunderland. Even he, however, saw his form go out the window at Brighton. 7.3
Bukayo Saka – Has come in for some hyperbolic scrutiny this season, despite his goals at this early stage, but at Brighton, he was exposed and made some poor decisions in a game that needed him to step up. 6.7
Max Dowman – His only start has come at Ipswich Town, where he scored two goals and claimed an assist too. He will surely get more minutes, but his score is solely based on one brilliant performance. 9*
Noni Madueke – Two starts and two good performances against Man City and Ipswich Town. 7
Kai Havertz – A mixed start to the season with very high highs and rather disappointing lows sees the score average out in the middle. 6.5
Viktor Gyokeres – Just two starts this season, where the Swede still appears to be showing the frustration of losing his starting spot. 4.5
Christos Tzolis – A surprise signing who had very little expectation and has been able to be a pleasant addition to the squad. Recently, though, the level has increased, and he might be showing some small struggles with that, which will be sternly tested after the break. 6.7
Eberechi Eze – Two starts so far and two underwhelming performances on the left wing have not helped to make good the frustration of missing out on a top forward signing in the summer. 5
Mikel Arteta - At football.london we don't give the manager a match-by-match rating, but the Spaniard is worthy of plenty of praise while also catching some criticism for the lack of proactive change at Brighton. He will have been disappointed to miss out on a wide player in the summer window beyond Tzolis but deserves credit for backing the Konsa signing to replace an injured Saliba.
Nearly helped make history with eight wins from eight to fall just one short. The question remains whether the Brighton loss was an anomaly or a concern for the future.