Arsenal find themselves twelve points off Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, following a toothless display at the Etihad Stadium, as City cruised to a 3-1 victory.

A Kevin De Bruyne strike in the first half, was then followed by a Sergio Aguero penalty at the start of the second half, after Nacho Monreal brought down Raheem Sterling. The Gunners were given some hope afterwards though as Alexandre Lacazette reduced the deficit with a good chunk of the game left.

Though, those hopes were short lived as Gabriel Jesus crushed any chances that Arsenal had of coming back, after a controversial decision which saw David Silva stray in to an offside position during the build-up to the goal.

In the end City were the better side on the day, and were fully deservant of the scoreline. Here are the player ratings from another eventful away day for Arsene Wenger’s men.

Goalkeeper

Petr Cech – 7 – Would have been five or six if it wasn’t for Arsenal’s number one. Made some big saves, as Cech had a busy afternoon up in Manchester. Couldn’t get anywhere near De Bruyne’s opener, though his horrid penalty record continues.

Defenders

Laurent Koscielny – 6 – Arsenal’s stand-out defender on a pretty shambolic day at the back for the Gunners. Like with Cech, had his work cut out from the get go. Made some key interceptions late on when the rest of his teammates all but gave up.

Francis Coquelin – 4 – Bizarre decision from Wenger to start the defensive midfielder in the heart of that back three. Was thrown in the deep end, as at times the Frenchman couldn’t handle the pace and quality that City possessed. Was hooked off early on in the second half.

Nacho Monreal – 4 – A bad day for the normally ever so reliable Spaniard. Clumsy defending in the build-up to City’s penalty, as like with the rest of the Arsenal defence, Monreal struggled with City’s constant threat going forwards.

Hector Bellerin – 5 – Hardly threatened going forwards, as he had to use all his energy and focus on dealing with the brilliant Leroy Sane down the left-hand side. Didn’t get much help at all from either Alex Iwobi or Mesut Ozil when tracking back, as the Spaniard found himself isolated on many occasions.

Sead Kolasinac – 5 – Again, a tough afternoon for Kolasinac, who was a real doubt not to feature before the game even started through injury. Gave the ball away needlessly on many occasions, and was often caught on the counter, as like with Bellerin, he struggled to get the balance right with defending and going forwards.

Midfielders

Granit Xhaka - 4 – Not a great day for the Swiss International, as he was outclassed by a sensational City midfield. Was often caught out of position throughout the game, as the midfielder tried to press a City team who were just too good.

Aaron Ramsey – 5 – Like with Xhaka, was a real mess in that central midfield area. Not disciplined at all, often found playing in a centre-forwards role. One positive was the assist for Lacazette’s goal, other than that a poor afternoon from the Welshman.

Forwards

Alex Iwobi – 4 – Didn’t justify his surprise inclusion in to the starting eleven, as the Nigerian struggled to get on the ball all afternoon. Majority of his work involved keeping tabs on City’s full-backs, as he attempted to cover his teammates.

Mesut Ozil – 4 – Another big game, another disappointing show from the German. Was competing for the limelight against De Bruyne, and there was only going to be one winner in that category…

Alexis Sanchez – 4 – One of the strangest performances witnessed in an Arsenal shirt from the Chilean. Was sloppy in possession, lacked conviction in the final third, and just looked generally disinterested. Was obvious which shirt he wanted to be wearing today.

Substitutes

Alexandre Lacazette – 6 – Came on for Coquelin early on in the second half. Took his goal fantastically. Will never be known as to why he didn’t start from the off.

Olivier Giroud – N/A – Came on for the final ten minutes, replacing Iwobi. Barely touched the ball as the game was lost at that moment.

Jack Wilshere – N/A – Again, came on at the same time as Giroud late on, though showed some classy touches and moments, as Arsenal lacked some real quality all afternoon in that midfield. 

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