Chelsea vs Arsenal:  Players' Performance Ratings

Chelsea vs Arsenal was "THE BEST" game of the season so far with Chelsea winning the 5-goal thriller 3-2 thanks to a late goal by Marcos Alonso.

Let's rate the players from both teams based on their performance.

Arsenal

Petr Cech: Cech showed everyone the reason why he was one of the best goalkeepers back in the day. Though he looked uncomfortable while contributing in the build-up from the back in the role of a 'sweeper keeper'; Cech saved 8 shots, out of which 4 were taken from inside the box. Rating- 7/10

Hector Bellerin: Bellerin started the game slowly and looked clueless in the early stages of the game, and allowed Willian and Alonso to exploit the spaces behind him. But as the game proceeded, he played really well and also contributed to Arsenal's 2nd goal. Rating- 6/10

Sokratis: Sokratis didn't look comfortable on the pitch. He couldn't stop the runs of Morata, Pedro and Willian. His struggles increased when Hazard came on for Chelsea. Rating- 5/10

Shkodran Mustafi: Mustafi and Sokratis might not be the best centre-back duo in the Premier League. They've failed 2 games in a row. Mustafi was unable to stop Morata from scoring Chelsea's 2nd goal. He also ended up getting booked. But he also made a lot of crucial clearances. Rating- 6/10

Nacho Monreal: Arsenal's full-backs did a pretty decent job in this game. Monreal tried to whip in crosses from the left and did a pretty decent job to stop Azpilicueta and Pedro on the right. Rating- 6/10

Granit Xhaka: Probably Arsenal's worst player today. He was useless in the midfield. He couldn't win the ball, gave away possession a lot of times and got himself a yellow card. Unai Emery did the right thing by subbing him off at halftime. Rating- 4/10

Matteo Guendouzi: The 19-year-old French midfielder played more confidently and looked more composed when he had the ball than his partner Granit Xhaka. He had the most tackles(4), most interceptions(4), joint- most fouls won(3), joint- most take-ons(2) and highest passing accuracy(93.9%). A solid performance by the youngster. Rating- 7/10

Matteo Guendouzi

Alex Iwobi: A very few people expected Iwobi to start the game. The Nigerian got himself a goal and was also involved in Arsenal's 1st goal to some extent. Overall a good game for Iwobi. Rating- 7/10

Mesut Ozil: Ozil was expected to have a good game and that he would be a key man in this fixture. Instead, he was rather an anonymous person on the pitch. Even though he managed to get a shot, he fired it just wide of the goal. Not the type of performance that the German would've expected. Rating- 6/10

Henrikh Mkhitaryan: Arsenal's best player yesterday. He managed to bag a goal and also he set-up Iwobi's goal. He missed a big chance, but he redeemed himself by getting a goal. He had the most key passes in the match(5). Rating- 7/10

Mkhitaryan was Arsenal's best player

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: It was a night to forget for Aubameyang. First of all, he missed 2 easy chances of scoring the goal, which he fired off- target. And the 2 shots he got on target were saved comfortably by Kepa. Rating- 6/10.

Substitutes

Lucas Torreira: Torreira replaced Xhaka at half-time. Torreira had a pretty decent game. He passed the ball around really well. He had a passing accuracy of 92%. Rating- 6/10

Aaron Ramsey: Aaron Ramsey replaced Ozil in the 68th minute after Ozil failed to make an impact. Ramsey managed to get a shot on target. He couldn't do anything significant in the game, although he could've done better if he would've been subbed on a bit early. Rating- 6/10

Alexandre Lacazette: Alexandre Lacazette replaced Iwobi in the 75th minute. Didn't get much time to do anything significant. He did manage to sneak 1 key pass through and gave away 2 fouls. Rating- 5/10

Chelsea players celebrate after Alonso's goal

Chelsea:

Kepa: Kepa had a decent game. He saved 4 shots, out of which 2 were from inside the box. He could've done better to save Iwobi's goal. He got his hand on the ball for both the goals, but was not able to keep out the shots. Rating- 6/10

Cesar Azpilicueta: Azpilicueta, as always was calm and composed. He got himself an assist, made 2 interceptions and also managed to get 3 key passes. Azpilicueta's assist to Morata was his 7th assist to Morata since the start of last season and Morata remains the only player that Azpilicueta has assisted since the last season, great understanding between the 2 Spaniards. Rating- 7/10

Antonio Rudiger: Rudiger started the game well, but as the game proceeded further, he found it difficult to defend against Mkhitaryan. Though his pace helped him to catch up with Aubameyang, his performance wasn't a special one. Rating- 6/10

David Luiz: David Luiz didn't play well defensively as he hardly made 2 clearances and had no interceptions. But what David Luiz was good at yesterday was that he was incredibly helpful to help out in the attacks. He had a passing accuracy of 91.4% and also successfully completed 9 out of 11 long balls. Rating- 7/10

Marcos Alonso: Alonso was the Man Of The Match in yesterday's match. He assisted Pedro's goal and also scored the winner in the 81st minute. Although he was offensively great, his mistakes cost Chelsea a goal. Apart from that, he played incredibly well, timed his attacking runs to perfection, linked up well with Wiliian first and then with Hazard and won the game for Chelsea. Rating- 8/10

Alonso scored the winner

Jorginho: Jorginho was a key player for Sarri at Napoli and he's once again a key player for Sarri at Chelsea. Jorginho managed to complete 91 passes with a passing accuracy of 91.9%. He also managed to get 1 shot on target. His through balls were accurate, precise and decisive. Another great performance by Jorginho. Rating- 7/10

Ross Barkley: Barkley, who plays the role of attacking midfielder in Chelsea's 3 man midfield, played his best game in a Chelsea shirt so far. his runs were incredible, and his passes were precise. He completed both the dribbles he attempted and managed to get a shot on target which was saved by a fully stretched Petr Cech. He was replaced by Kovacic in the 60th minute. Rating- 7/10

N'Golo Kante: Kante is playing a more advanced role of a box-to-box midfielder in Sarri's system and he's playing like that has been his role since ages. He didn't give away the ball, not even once. But the most interesting stat is that he managed to complete 4 key passes, just 1 less than Mkhitaryan(5). Rating- 7/10

Willian: A disappointing performance by the Brazilian. Willian looked a bit off yesterday. His unawareness led to Arsenal's 1st goal. He played a bit selfish and wanted his name to be on the score-sheet but failed. Eventually, he was replaced by Hazard in the 60th minute. Rating- 6/10

Alvaro Morata: Morata scored his 1st goal of the season yesterday. He looked a bit confident after a disappointing pre-season and last season. He played physically and won 2 fouls. He had 2 shots and both were on target. The way Morata took his goal could be a sign of better things to come for himself and Chelsea. He was replaced by Giroud in the 75th minute. Rating- 7/10

Pedro: Pedro looks rejuvenated under Maurizio Sarri and has scored 2 goals in 2 appearances. He hit a total 5 shots, out of which 2 were on target and blocked, and 2 were off target. Looks like the Old Pedro from the Barcelona days has returned. Rating- 8/10

Pedro

Substitutes

Mateo Kovacic: Kovacic made his debut yesterday, coming on from the bench in the 60th minute replacing Ross Barkley. Kovacic played just for 30 minutes and completed all of his attempted 43 passes. But the most important fact is that all of his passes were in the opposition half. He also managed to win 2 fouls. Rating- 7/10

Eden Hazard: Many people were surprised to see Hazard on the bench. Hazard replaced Willian in the 60th minute. As soon as he came on, the game turned into Chelsea's favour. He completed 3 key passes and also assisted Alonso's winning goal in the 81st minute. Fun fact: Hazard currently has the most assists in the PL (2) and he has not even played 90 minutes (He just played 43 minutes). Rating- 7/10

Eden Hazard

Olivier Giroud: Giroud replaced Morata in the 75th minute to play against his former club. He didn't do much, but managed to hit 2 shots on target. Rating- 6/10