A 62nd minute penalty was the difference as Arsenal were beaten by Koln, as Sehrou Guirassy smashed the ball straight down the middle of the net, after Mathieu Debuchy fouled him inside the box.
Here’s how each Gunners fared individually.
'Keeper and defence
David Ospina: 6 – Was relatively quiet for the entirety of the game, only being called into action a few times. Made a good diving save off to his right in the first-half keeping the score 0-0.
Per Mertesacker: 6 – Solid performance from the big German centre-back, and was clearly the most experienced player on the pitch. Helped to carry his fellow defenders through the game as he did well to shut out the Cologne strike force.
Mathieu Debuchy: 5 – Bad day at the office for the Frenchman as once again his lack of first-team football proved pivotal, as he brought down Guirassy in the box to concede the penalty which saw Arsenal lose the game.
Rob Holding: 5 – Again a very unconvincing performance from the young centre-back as he looked shaky at points. Made a few good contributions to the game however is yet to deliver the same level of performance as he did towards the end of last year.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 6 – Quiet game for the academy graduate however caused problems for the Cologne full-backs at times. His development seems to be going well as Arsene Wenger believes he will soon be pushing the regulars for a place in the first team.
Callum Chambers: 6 – Solid game for the ex-Southampton man as he makes a rare appearance in the first team. Made few errors however lacked that creativity that is needed in the wing-back position.
Coquelin provides attacking threat
Francis Coquelin: 7 – Remarkably, Coquelin proved to be Arsenal’s biggest threat going forward. A fierce shot from the edge of the box, just whistled past the post, before just minutes later striking the post after a charging run from midfield. Strong performance from the Frenchman.
Mohamed Elneny: 5 – Below par performance from the Egyptian as he didn’t provide any quality going forward. Continuous sideways passing and was poor from set pieces.
Attackers fail to threaten Cologne defence
Jack Wilshere: 6 – Usual performance from the central midfielder, as he never backed out of a challenge, and was extremely tidy on the ball. Looked good when going forward however lacked the quality with his final product.
Danny Welbeck: 5 – The England international didn’t provide any attacking threat as was pulled at half-time. He will need to improve to ten-fold if he wants to push for a regular spot in the first-team.
Olivier Giroud: 5 – An unusual performance for the French striker as he failed to find his feet throughout the game. Rarely threatened the Cologne goalkeeper and lacked the usual link-up play he is usually so good at.
Substitutes
Alex Iwobi: 6 – After coming on at half time, Iwobi got into the game quickly, making a couple of mazy runs down the left-hand side. Brought some much needed quality to the pitch after coming on.
Reiss Nelson: 6 – Looked good with the limited time he had on the pitch, having a great chance with minutes left however saw the keeper parry his shot wide.
Eddie Nketiah: N/A – Only had six minutes on the pitch.