Ed Aarons at the Emirates Stadium 

Arsenal 1-0 Atlético Madrid (agg: 2-1): Champions League player ratings

Matteo Ruggeri fails in his unenviable job of marking Bukayo Saka who delivered when it mattered most
  
  

Bukayo Saka celebrates with Kai Havertz after Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid at the Emirates Stadium
Bukayo Saka caused Atlético plenty of problems before providing Arsenal with their vital goal. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Arsenal

David Raya Always on his toes to launch attacks and came to Arsenal’s rescue when he was needed. 7

Ben White Looked nervous at times after a poor patch of form but managed to nullify Lookman’s threat. 7

William Saliba Didn’t put a foot wrong until careless header almost set up Simeone in the second half. 6

Gabriel Magalhães Led by example as usual. On another day could have been penalised for a last-ditch recovery tackle on Simeone. 7

Riccardo Calafiori Arsenal’s agent of chaos was everywhere. Had a couple of sighters, got away with one for a challenge on Griezmann. 7

Declan Rice Thriving in a deeper role than usual in the last few weeks. Set the tone from first whistle and produced a brilliant block to stop Simeone scoring. 8

Myles Lewis-Skelly From third-choice left-back to first-choice central midfielder in the space of a few days. What a transformation. 8

Leandro Trossard Thought he should have had a penalty at end of the first half and showed quick feet to get shot away for goal. 7

Eberechi Eze Not his most decisive night but is growing in confidence with every game of this competition. 7

Bukayo Saka Arsenal’s starboy is delivering when it matters most. Caused Atlético plenty of problems before scoring the vital goal. 9

Viktor Gyökeres Looks much more like £64m striker these days, even if he should have ended the evening with a goal. 8

Substitutes: Piero Hincapié (Calafiori 58). Added energy down the left flank. 7; Martin Ødegaard (Eze 58) A timely return from injury for the captain. 6; Noni Madueke (Saka 58) Kept Atlético pinned back. 7; Martín Zubimendi (Lewis-Skelly 73) Helped see out victory. 6; Gabriel Martinelli (Trossard 83) n/a.

Atlético Madrid

Jan Oblak Will be disappointed not to have done better with the initial shot for Saka’s goal. Shaky with his distribution. 5

Marc Pubill Started time-wasting from first throw, although caused Arsenal problems with surging runs from right-back. 6

Robin Le Normand The French-born Spain defender didn’t relish physical battle with Gyökeres and looked relieved to be taken out of the line of fire. 4

David Hancko A less dramatic evening than the first leg but was guilty of playing Saka onside for crucial goal. 6

Matteo Ruggeri Coped initially with the unenviable job of marking Saka. Could not prevent him from scoring. 5

Giuliano Simeone Definitely not in the team just because his Dad is the manager. Lively in the first half and unfortunate to be taken off. 7

Marcos Llorente Provides incessant energy in Atlético’s engine room but couldn’t live with Lewis-Skelly’s raw power. 5

Koke The man who has played more games than anyone for Atlético gave everything for the cause. His wait goes on. 7

Ademola Lookman Waited a long time to show what he can do in this competition. Struggled to make an impact. 5

Antoine Griezmann Still capable of unlocking any defence but showed advancing years are catching up with him ahead of his move to MLS in the summer. 5

Julián Alvarez Didn’t look 100% fit after coming off in the first leg and had to be withdrawn early again. 6

Substitutes: Alexander Sørloth (Simeone, 58) Fluffed great chance at end. 5; Johnny Cardoso (Lookman, 58) Couldn’t lift tempo. 5; Nahuel Molina (Le Normand, 58) Also found Gyökeres a handful. 5; Álex Baena (Griezmann, 66) Almost set up the equaliser. 6; Thiago Almada (Alvarez, 66) Failed to make an impression. 5.

 

Leave a Comment

Required fields are marked *

*

*