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Arsenal ended their pre-season spell with a narrow defeat against LaLiga champions Barcelona. The Gunners endured a mixed pre-season campaign, winning four of their seven friendly matches. Their defensive issues have been starkly visible, despite the club having invested heavily on defenders.
The Premier League side had a bright first half in the Barcelona game as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the opener in the 36th minute. The Gabonese striker managed to get past Jordi Alba and fired a powerful shot after receiving a brilliant pass from Mesut Ozil.
However, Barcelona turned the tide in the second half. The Gunners managed to hold off the Catalans' relentless attack for a while, but the La Liga side capitalized on Arsenal's defensive mistakes to complete a brilliant comeback.
Arsenal have not signed any first-team defender so far, and they will need to search for one quickly before the season begins. Here, we will take a look at 3 Arsenal players who disappointed the most against Barcelona.
1. Granit Xhaka
The former Basel star has been Arsenal's first choice midfielder for three years now. Bought for a massive €45 million, Granit Xhaka is arguably the only Arsenal player capable of becoming a regular central midfielder. But he's had to face a lot of criticism along the way
The 26-year-old's disciplinary record has been poor; he received no less than 20 yellow cards over the last two seasons. In 2018-19, Xhaka completed 85 percent of his passes which was somewhat average for a central midfielder.
Against Barcelona, the Swiss international's display was barely decent, although he was one of Arsenal's most vocal players on the pitch.
He recorded several misplaced passes and was unable to link up well with his teammates. The Swiss midfielder failed to maintain possession and made some reckless challenges in the first half. He was a better player during the second half, but still did not manage to make any notable impact on the match.
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2. Ainsley Maitland-Niles
The 21-year-old Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been one of Arsenal's brightest prospects so far. He started just eight games in the 2017-18 season, but Unai Emery has given him more playing time since Hector Bellerin suffered a lengthy injury last season.
Maitland-Niles' defensive and offensive capabilities have impressed Arsenal fans. He also became one of Arsenal's prominent players in the Europa League, making nine appearances as a starter and scoring a goal.
Unfortunately, he did make several costly defensive mistakes last season. That carried over into the match against Barcelona, where the young full-back struggled to maintain a consistent display.
Maitland-Niles had a superb first half, making a couple of marauding runs and being solid at the back. He was a nightmare for Barcelona defenders despite struggling in the final product.
However, he had a totally different second half. The 21-year-old was barely able to go forward and made several woeful deliveries. To top that, he scored a bizarre own goal which gave Barcelona momentum.
Despite his excellent first half, the Arsenal academy product will be remembered for gifting Barcelona the equalizer.
3. Shkodran Mustafi
Shkodran Mustafi's career has been an absolute mess so far. Bought for a massive €41 million in 2016, Mustafi was intended to solve Arsenal's lingering defensive issues.
Sadly, the center back has now turned out to be a part of the problem. He has made numerous amateur-level mistakes which have cost Arsenal dearly over the last 3 seasons.
Many have been urging the Premier League side to get rid of the 2014 World Cup winner since last year. The Gunners have signed several well-known center backs such as Sokratis Papasthopoulos and William Saliba, but it seems that the 27-year-old will still play for Arsenal next season.
Mustafi came on as a substitute and played less than 10 minutes in the Barcelona game. However, he needed just 3 minutes to ruin Arsenal's day.
The German was at fault for Luis Suarez's goal, as he gave the former Liverpool striker huge space to capitalize on, off a simple long pass. The former Valencia defender tried to block Suarez's shot, but he was too late.
Arsenal still have several days remaining to search for a new center back, and it remains to be seen what Mustafi's fate will be.
