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LONDON – It was great fun handing out player ratings for Arsenal vs Liverpool in an epic clash between title rivals at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
( FURTHER: Summary, analysis, reaction. )
Arsenal beat Liverpool, who were left with 10 men, to leave the title race open.
Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal the lead before a bizarre Gabriel own goal after an Arsenal defensive error made it 1-1.
An even worse mistake gave Arsenal the three points when Gabriel Martinelli finished after Alisson and Virgil van Dijk got into a big mess. Later, Leandro Trossard made it 3-1 when he struck from a tight angle onto the counter to rub more salt into Liverpool’s wounds.
Below are the full player ratings for Arsenal vs Liverpool, with scores out of 10 and analysis of each player.
Arsenal player ratings
David Rayá:6 – Made a mistake on Liverpool’s goal. He should have gone out to get the ball.
ben white:7 – A great defense and also advanced well. Lovely, sassy nutmeg on Jones.
William Saliba:6 – Should have cleared the ball before Liverpool’s goal. Good apart from that.
Gabriel:7 – Unlucky on the own goal and did well to get the ball out from behind and step on Jota and company.
Oleksandr Zinchenko:5 – Liverpool’s attacks came their way in the first half and were substituted at half-time presumably due to injury.
Declan Rice:8 – A ball winning machine in midfield and helped stop Liverpool counterattacks on numerous occasions. He won the midfield battle.
Martin Odegaard:7 – Worked very hard defensively and great pass to Havertz in Saka’s goal.
Jorginho: 8 – Very organized in everything he did. The right decision to put him in for this type of game. He used his experience brilliantly to calm things down and regain control of the game.
Bukayo Saka:8 – He took advantage of his goal very well and was a great threat in the first half. He was substituted due to injury late on, but it seemed like nothing more than a precaution.
Kai Havertz:7 – Played very well in the central role. He should have scored first, but he made great runs and dragged down the Liverpool defenders.
Gabriel Martinelli:8 – Scored the second and worked incredibly hard down the left. Dio Alexander-Arnold
a torrid time. She ran to the ground and set the tone.
Substitutions
Jakub Kiwior:7 – At half-time Zinchenko defended very well and got an assist.
Nelson Reis:6 – Moved forward for Saka and played his part in keeping Arsenal ahead late on.
Leandro Trossard: 7 – He got his goal and always a threat on the counter to get the victory.
Liverpool player ratings
Alisson:4 – Generally very calm, but Alisson and Van Dijk got into a big mess for Arsenal’s second goal. Klopp couldn’t believe it and Alisson should have cleared the ball in that goal and was brought down in Arsenal’s third to cap a bad day at the office.
Trent Alexander-Arnold:5 – Martinelli gave him a bad start. Some decent crosses but Liverpool pulled it out to try and keep the point. Maybe that backfired?
Ibrahima Konate:5 – Dragged around by Havertz and very out of position for Arsenal’s first goal. He and Van Dijk were not on the same page. Late expulsion for two yellow cards.
Virgil van Dijk:4 – Played his part in Alisson’s big mistake, as he should not have dropped the ball over for Martinelli’s goal. He was caught playing too high on Arsenal’s first goal and the deflection off him on Arsenal’s third summed up a difficult day.
Joe Gomez:5 – Did well at left and right back after being booked early, but it was a tough task against this Arsenal attack.
Ryan Gravenberg:5 – Couldn’t have any impact on the match as Arsenal pressed high in the first half. Substituted early in the second.
Alexis Mac Allister:6 – Had some attempts from distance that went wide. He did everything he could to keep Liverpool going.
Curtis Jones:5 – Struggled to make an impact on the game, aside from a shot that went wide in the second half.
Cody Gakpo:5 – Could have headed a cross into the area in the first half, but did not enter the game and was substituted early in the second.
Diogo Jota:5 – Not his usual lively character. I worked hard but lost that bit of quickness in the final third.
Luis Diaz: 7 – Forced Liverpool’s goal with determination and always threatening on the counterattack.
Substitutions
Darwin Nunez:6 – I tried my hardest and hit a good shot well over the top.
Andy Robertson:5 – I couldn’t really get into the game in an offensive sense.
Harvey Elliott:6 – Worked his way into good positions but couldn’t deliver the crucial final ball.
Thiago Alcantara: N/A