Arsenal 0-0 Red Star Belgrade: Player Ratings following a dour draw

The Gunners secured qualification from group H after a goalless draw against Serbian outfit Red Star Belgrade.

Arsenal 0-0 Red Star Belgrade: Player Ratings following a dour draw
tjwedderburn
By TJ Wedderburn

In a game that won't live long in the memory, Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Red Star Belgrade

The result was enough to see Arsenal clinch qualification from group H in the Europa League, but it was an extremely disappointing match with chances for either side few and far between.

The best opportunity for The Gunners came in the 64th minute. Jack Wilshere's close range effort was cleared off the line. The visitors' chance to break the deadlock came on the stroke of halftime, Richmond Boakye raced through one on one but lost his composure at the vital moment. 

Here are the player ratings after a forgettable night in north London;

Goalkeeper and defence

Matt Macey - 8 - Arguably Arsenal's best performer. The young shot stopper pulled off a fine save to deny Vujadin Savić in the first half. The Serb's header looked destined for the net, however Macey used every inch of his 6 foot 6 inch frame to tip the ball onto the crossbar.

Mathieu Debuchy - 6 - Solid, if unspectacular. Debuchy is slowly but surely winning Arsenal fans over after a string of good performances. The experienced Frenchman has been touted for an exit from Arsenal for what seems like an age, but he often does his job well when selected.

Mohamed Elneny - 5 - Selected in a somewhat unfamiliar role, Elneny often abandoned his duties as a central defender in an effort to push forward. He was also guilty of being caught out of position for Boakye's first half chance. Not a great day at the office for the Egypt international. 

Rob Holding - 5 - Was also guilty of poor positional play for Boakye's chance. It's been a poor start to the season for Holding, after ending last season so strongly. He nodded wide from a corner late on, which could've won the game for his team. 

Midfield 

Reiss Nelson - 5 - Wasn't as involved in the game as he would've liked to have been. Nelson has impressed in an unnatural wing back role, but was unable to effectively influence proceedings against Belgrade. 

Francis Coquelin - 5 - Did a good job of breaking up play in the middle of the park. Demonstrated little quality on the ball but pressed in his usual relentless manner off of it. Coquelin has set his sights on a return to Arsenal's starting XI after returning from a hamstring injury. 

Joe Willock - 4 - The academy graduate has recently signed a new long term deal at The Emirates. Unfortunately for him he wasn't able to seal the deal with a victory. He kept possession ticking over well but hardly produced any moments of note. Not his best outing in an Arsenal shirt. 

Ainsley Maitland-Niles - - A decent performance from another product of Arsenal's youth academy. The 20-year-old created a chance for Olivier Giroud in the first half after some tidy footwork and was generally quite lively throughout the match. 

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Attack

Jack Wilshere - 5 - So often the man for Arsenal in the Europa League, even Wilshere's playmaking wasn't enough to secure three points. His clever dink in the second half was cleared off the line, his biggest moment of the match by some distance.

Theo Walcott - 3 - A poor performance from Arsenal's captain on the night. He was presented with an opportunity in the box inside the 79th minute, but fluffed his lines quite badly. Walcott is not currently in the good books of Arsenal fans, and performances like this won't enamour him any time soon. 

Olivier Giroud - 4 - Winner of the 2017 Puskas award, there would be no worldie finish from Giroud against Belgrade. Other than a chance created by Maitland-Niles in the first half, the 31-year-old was rather starved of service.

Substitutes:

Eddie Nketiah - 4 - Unable to repeat his heroics against Norwich after replacing Willock inside the 68th minute. The young forward looked lively, but much like Giroud, recieved little to no service from a below-par midfield.