An exciting London derby ended in disappointment for Arsenal as Marcos Alonso struck a winner deep into the second half on Sunday evening.
Initially falling 2-0 down and being torn apart at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal rallied to equalise before the end of the second half. However, the Gunners were poor in the second half and will look back on a missed opportunity as they missed a plethora of simple chances in the first half. The search for Unai Emery’s first points as the new Arsenal manager goes on. Here's how his players fared:
Defence
Petr Cech: 6/10 - The goalkeeper looked uncomfortable again with having to play out from the back. However, he did male a string of fine saves to keep the score line respectable, much like last week but was ultimately let down by his defence.
Hector Bellerin: 5/10 - His blistering pace going forward worried the Chelsea defence and his delightful cut back to Aubameyang should have earned him an assist. However, his poor defensive awareness overshadowed his attacking forays. The Spaniard was caught out of position for the first Chelsea goal and has lots to learn from Stephan Lichtsteiner.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 6/10 - The decision to play an offside trapexposed his lack of pace and left him chasing the game. He did make a couple of decent blocks and clearing headers. Much like Cech, he does not look convincing when attempting to play the ball out from the back. Alongside Mustafi, the Greek looked poor trying to stop Morata for the Spaniard’s goal.
Shkodran Mustafi: 5/10 - A typical Mustafi performance: disjointed, rash and reckless. His insistence on going through the back of Chelsea players with their back to goal earned him a poor yellow card. He was clearly not in tune with his defensive partner Sokratis which allowed Chelsea to continue to play simple balls over top for the majority of the first half. How much longer can he perform poorly at this level and start every week?
Nacho Monreal: 6/10 - The Spanish full-back helped sure up Arsenal’s left flank after’s its demolition at the hands of Manchester City. Stable and strong as ever, he pinched the ball from Willian to help Arsenal pull one back in the first half. Monreal was afforded extra cover by the help of Iwobi.
Midfield
Granit Xhaka: 4/10 - The Swiss was substituted at half-time by Unai Emery which tells the story. Much like Mustafi, he picked up a needless yellow card for an ill-timed challenge he would not have had to make if positioned correctly. He added little to the game as Chelsea attacks flooded past him.
Matteo Guendozi: 7/10 - Another performance which showed the undoubted potential of the Frenchmen. At a mere 19 years old, he played like someone of vaster experience as he continually showed for possession as Arsenal struggled to play out from the back. Adventurous in possession and feisty in the challenge quickly gaining respect of the Gunners faithful, he seems to be a firm favourite of Unai Emery already.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 7/10 - Having just missed a sitter from five yards out, he struck a superb low drive into the bottom corner to drag Arsenal back into the game. The Armenian linked well with Bellerin when going forward and picked out a divine cross for Iwobi to smash home the equaliser.
Attack
Mesut Ozil: 4/ 10 - Played alongside Aubameyang as a second striker for most of the game but was still largely ineffective. With limited space for him to operate, Ozil played on the periphery of the game, ‘going-missing’ for 70 minutes. He was subbed off which could be a message from the manager that he must improve in the big games.
Alex Iwobi: 7/10 - A surprise on the team sheet, which may have angered a few fans before kick-off but fully justified his inclusion. A performance bursting with tenacity and industry. Attempted to drive his team forward and was rewarded with an assist and goal, showing his team mates how to finish from five yards out. He is very much a confidence player and showed it against Chelsea.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 4/10 - A striker of his pedigree and cost should have tucked away the two simple chances he was presented with. A poor record in the big games continues as he was caught off side numerous times even with his abundance of pace. A day to forget as it was for many other Arsenal players.
Substitutes
Lucas Torreira: 6/10 - Brought stability alongside the inexperienced Guendozi and made two early interceptions which are signs of what is to come. The Uruguayan recycled possession well and surely must start next week.
Alexandre Lacazette: 4/10 - Lazy defending allowed Hazard to stroll past him for Chelsea’s winning goal. He also gave the ball away in the build-up. The Frenchman offered no attacking threat as Arsenal held on in the second half.
Aaron Ramsey: 6/10 - A surprise to see him start from the bench and he was unable to get Arsenal into the second half. The Welsh midfielder saw a speculative effort fly just over the bar.