Arsenal were in action against French champions Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League for supremacy in their group but in truth, both sides underperformed according to their high standards.
Although the game did end 2-2 and could be labelled entertaining, the Gunners played the better football in the closing stages of the 1st half and the beginning of the second half while PSG missed a lot of chances and slightly edged the game in the opening exchanges and towards the end.
Arsenal will be ruing the fact that they did lead in the second half but couldn’t shut out the Paris club. Edinson Cavani broke the deadlock after 18 minutes but the Gunners came back via an Olivier Giroud penalty on the stroke of half-time. The Gunners went on to take the lead after Marquinhos’ poor clearance rebounded off Verratti and went into the net but Lucas Moura’s deflected 77th-minute equaliser brought PSG back on level terms.
Also read: Arsenal 2-2 Paris Saint-Germain - 5 Talking Points
A strange statistic, however, pointed out how absurd this match was. This was the first game since Romanian side Unirea Urziceni beat Rangers 4-1 in October 2009 (a game where there were three own goals) has there been more goals in a Champions League game than there were shots on target. Both sides will surely look back at the game and try to figure out what went wrong for them, but in the end, none of the players on both teams showed up on the night.
Here are the player ratings:
Paris Saint-Germain
Alphonse Areola – 6/10
Areola didn’t have much to do as Arsenal were relatively subdued and as pointed out there were more goals than shots on target. He went the wrong way for the Giroud penalty and there was absolutely nothing he could do about the Verratti own goal.
Maxwell – 6/10
Maxwell prevented much developing on the Arsenal right flank and duly stopped any threat offered by Alexis Sanchez who eventually switched to the opposite flank to try to make an impact. However, he was at fault for the penalty after chasing Ozil and completely losing his man Sanchez as the Chilean won the penalty that Giroud finished off.
Thiago Silva – 6/10
Perhaps Thiago Silva could have done better in the game being PSG’s captain. He almost made a mistake that led to a goal early on with a poor touch after an Arsenal corner. He did get a shot on target from a PSG corner soon after in the opening exchanges, but it was cleared off the line by Kieran Gibbs.
He was at fault for the second Arsenal goal with a poor clearance which eventually led to Marquinho’s rebounded effort that went into the back of the net. Although Arsenal were not at their attacking best, Thiago Silva could have performed better and was a bit off colour and not composed enough at times.
Marquinhos - 6/10
Marquinhos was rather solid against the Gunners and restricted them considerably and was good in the air. Giroud was nullified by him in the game. He was extremely unfortunate to see his clearance ricochet off Verratti and fly into the PSG net but in hindsight, he could have whacked that ball into the stands instead of clearing through the middle.
He gets a 6 just for that, otherwise, he was solid enough.
Thomas Meunier – 6/10
Meunier whipped in a good cross early on for Cavani but Koscielny intervened. He was troubled by Alex Iwobi early on in the first half but recovered in the game to restrict the Arsenal player and as a result there was no significant attack thereafter on PSG’s right flank.
Even after Sanchez shifted to his flank he kept the Chilean at bay. He provided good enough width and performed his defensive duties sufficiently well making some important clearances.
Thiago Motta – 7/10
Perhaps PSG’s best player on the night but many will give that to Lucas Moura. Not many notice the stalwart Motta’s efforts because he is not a flashy player, but he was at his efficient best and the Arsenal midfield couldn’t really do much with him patrolling the midfield and guarding the back four.
He played a number of key passes and a delightful through ball (what a ball that was) to Matuidi which led to the first PSG goal and went about his game dictating from midfield in typical Thiago Motta fashion. He certainly turned back the clock in this game.
Grzegorz Krychowiak – 5/10
Krychowiak was rather woeful in the game and failed to contribute anything significant except to Arsenal’s cause. He lost the ball in midfield after delaying to make a pass and then hurried into the box to make a foolish challenge on Sanchez, however, it must be said that he barely made contact with the Chilean and it was, in fact, a dive that won Arsenal that penalty. He was unlucky but perhaps he should have stood his ground. He must do better and assert himself on games.
Marco Verratti - 6.5/10
This is not the classy Marco Verratti we know. This game was perhaps his most un-influential one in the Champions League. For a player who asserts himself and dictates the midfield with ease, tonight was a night to forget for Verratti. He did not put Cavani through on a couple of occasions when he should have and was stuck in the wrong place while the ball was played in by Arsenal inside his box as Marquinhos struck the ball onto his shin which led to an unfortunate own goal. Poor from an otherwise very classy player.
Blaise Matuidi - 7/10
Matuidi provided some impetus for PSG as he ran with the ball out of the back on numerous occasions. He showed a great turn of pace to bamboozle Mustafi and set up Cavani’s opener which was his highlight of the game. He went close to scoring as well if not for Jenkinson. He ran up and down the pitch contributing defensively as well and had a good game overall.
Edinson Cavani - 7/10
It was a mixed game for Cavani. He could not get to an early cross to head in during the opening exchanges which we have seen him bury before. Then he scored a good goal after lunging to the ball after Matuidi crossed it. He had more chances later on and shot into the stands after which he went through on goal but tried to dink Ospina and failed. He should have been more lethal although he did score a goal.
Lucas Moura - 8/10
Many rated him as the best player on the night and it was rather true, if not for Motta’s overall performance. He was everywhere and was involved in a lot of attacks with some delightful passes. He took a brilliant free kick in the second half that hit the crossbar. Lucas also slid Cavani through for a one-on-one which Cavani made a hash of and then popped up at the far post with a good header for the equalising goal that deflected off Alex Iwobi.
Substitutes
Hatem Ben Arfa – 6/10
The Frenchman replaced Krychowiak just after Verratti’s own goal as PSG looked for the equaliser. Ben Arfa did provide a couple of dangerous crosses into the box, but on the whole, he did not contribute much offensively. It was, however, his corner which led to PSG’s equaliser in the end.
Jese – N/A
Arsenal
David Ospina – 7/10
Ospina had a good game actually even though he conceded 2 goals. He made two important saves to deny Cavani but he could do nothing for the opener and was perhaps suspect in his positioning for the second goal that deflected in off Alex Iwobi, that being said, it was poor marking by Arsenal in the first place.
Carl Jenkinson – 6/10
Arsenal are certainly missing Hector Bellerin and this was a game of ups and downs for his replacement Jenkinson. His poor crossing botched up a couple of good attacks for Arsenal in the first half. He wasn’t tight on his man Matuidi and let the winger ghost inside to set up Cavani’s opener. He then put in the low cross that led to two poor clearances by PSG which eventually found the back of the net. Then he lost his man Lucas Moura from the corner and that led to PSG’s equaliser.
Shkodran Mustafi – 5/10
Mustafi was rather off colour this game. He got fooled far too easily by Matuidi’s turn of pace and was directly responsible for the cross that went in to Cavani for the first goal. He made a few good interceptions but was left wanting again by Cavani when 1 v 1. It was not his best game.
Laurent Koscielny – 5/10
Koscielny being the more experienced of Arsenal’s centre back pair should have had a better game and almost conceded a penalty by bringing down Cavani but was lucky to escape. He tried to run with the ball out of the box a few times but lost it and got a booking for making a foul after one such incident. He lost Cavani for the opener and his positioning was average for the entire game. He was also directly responsible for three of PSG’s chances.
Kieran Gibbs – 7/10
Gibbs made a good clearance off the line in the beginning of the game as Thiago Silva shot towards goal and was perhaps Arsenal’s most solid defender on the night. He kept the PSG right hand side relatively quiet and had a game that will certainly make Arsene Wenger consider him instead of Nacho Monreal. He was dependable.
Francis Coquelin – 5/10
Coquelin was too rash on a number of occasions and simply went in too hard on Thiago Motta and was booked for it. He could not combine with Aaron Ramsey well enough and almost conceded an own goal in the beginning after a deflection almost went in. It was a poor game for Coqeulin.
Aaron Ramsey – 6/10
Ramsey was back and showed plenty of drive throughout the game and was quite lively starting his first game in the centre of midfield this season. However, he could not assert himself on the game in any significant way. Motta nullified him.
Alexis Sanchez – 7/10
Sanchez showed plenty of tenacity and spirit but could not trouble Maxwell too much in the game and even switched flanks but couldn’t make an impact there either. He clearly dived for the penalty as there was minimal contact from Krychowiak and won his side a spot kick. It was cheeky from the Chilean but paid off nevertheless.
Mesut Ozil – 6/10
Where was Ozil? That reverse pass to Sanchez to bring about the penalty was the only significant contribution by him although he did make some probing passes and runs but they were very minimal. A player of his quality should run oppositions ragged and dominate games. It was another case of Ozil going missing in a big game as is so often the case. Hat-tricks against minnows are always good but in turn, he has to run the show in big matches like he did against Chelsea in the Premier League.
Alex Iwobi – 6/10
Iwobi made a few good runs and offered a lot of width. He got into good situations with his direct running taking on players but his final ball or shot was lacking. The youngster needs to work on that aspect of his game and be more decisive or he could be replaced by Chamberlain who is waiting in the wings. He was extremely unlucky for the goal that went in.
Olivier Giroud – 7/10
It was a strange game for Giroud. He was static throughout most of it but then stepped up to score the first Arsenal goal with a good penalty. He tried to cause problems for the PSG back line of Marquinhos and Thiago Silva but they handled him with ease. He was perhaps let down by his teammates who offered him no support at times.
Substitutes
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5/10
The Ox was brought on with 10 minutes to go as Arsenal searched for a winner but could not really contribute much offensively. he did track back a couple of times to deny PSG though.
Theo Walcott – 5/10
Walcott, too, was brought on in the latter stages but like Chamberlain, he didn’t offer much.
Granit Xhaka – 5/10
Xhaka replaced Iwobi in the 77th minute but was anonymous for the most part.
