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.
