Arsenal lost 2-1 at home to FK Ostersunds at the Emirates in the Europa League on Thursday but won the tie 4-2 on aggregate to qualify for Friday’s last 16 draw. Find out which Gunners and visiting players impressed Layth Yousif on a disappointing night in North London.
ARSENAL:
David Ospina: 5 - Arsene Wenger said this week Arsenal had two ‘world class goalkeepers’. It was hard to agree with the assertion as the team went 2-0 down after 22 minutes.
Hector Bellerin: 5.5 - Looked as shellshocked as anyone on or off the pitch after Ostersund’s early brace but recovered to provide the cross for Sead Kolasinac’s goal moments after the interval which effectively killed the tie.
Calum Chambers: 5.5 - Said earlier in the week he wanted to show what he could do in this competition. After his showing against the Swedes he will be grateful for another chance in this tournament to show his real worth.
Rob Holding: 5.5 - Has been playing well for the Under 23s recently but the Europa League is a far cry from quiet nights at Borehamwood’s Meadow Park. Will be better for the experience but one can only be thankful the match wasn’t played against a higher calibre side.
Sead Kolasinac: 5.5 - Scored Arsenal’s goal but his increasingly defensive inconsistency has somehow turned him from Roberto Carlos to Andre Santos as the season has progressed.
Mohamed Elneny: 5.5 - A defensive shield who failed to provide defensive cover for his colleagues in the backline early on. Recovered his composure somewhat in the second half but surely he cannot start against Manchester City at Wembley after such an ineffective performance against the Scandinavian minnows.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 5 - Subbed off at half time after a forgettable 45 minutes. Too inexperienced to be given a role in the middle of the park at this stage of his development and suffered for it. Doesn’t deserve to be shuffled around by Wenger when his best position is clearly on the right hand side of midfield.
Henrik Mkhtaryan: 5 - It was intriguing to watch him struggle to win the ball against former York City youth Jamie Hopcutt. Far better than the ineffective performance he gave tonight.
Jack Wilshere: 5.5 - By picking the 26-year-old to play against the Swedes is Wenger giving a clear hint he won’t start him against Manchester City? Not one of his better games to the disappointment of his many admirers.
Alex Iwobi: 4 - Poor. Again
Danny Welbeck: 5.5 - Anonymous but at least worked hard. Needs goals but as Wenger said this week his confidence has suffered after losing 18 months of his career to serious injury.
Subs:
Granit Xhaka (Maitland-Niles 45) 5.5
Joe Willock (Wilshere 76) 5
Reiss Nelson (Iwobi 90+2) 5
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FK OSTERSUNDS
Aly Keita: 10
Tom Pettersson: 10
Sotirios Papagiannipoulos: 10
Jamie Hopcutt: 10
Hosam Aiesh: 10
Ken Sema: 10
Curtis Edwards: 10
Dennis Widgren: 10
Brwa Nouri: 10
Ronald Mukiibi: 10
Saman Ghodos: 10
Manager Graham Potter: 10
Subs:
Dino Islamovic (Mukiibi, 73) 10
Tesfaldet Tekie (Aiesh, 52) 10
Frank Arhin (Hopcutt, 81) 10
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