Player Ratings: Arsenal v Borussia Dortmund

Didn’t see a great deal of work and had a couple terrifying moments when balls flashed across the face of goal, but his hands were good and he looked composed enough.

A good night for the right back (not strange for the lad in the Champion’s League) and his ability on the ball in advanced areas complemented Oxlade-Chamberlain very nicely. Was caught a bit far forward at times, exposing a rather vulnerable defence too often.  

I’ve been lenient on the BFG in the past given the lack of experience around him, but tonight was not especially kind to him. While his reading of the game is sufficient and he can still cut balls out from the box with the best of him, he left his fellow defenders in some risky positions rather needlessly.  

A good, steady game from the fill-in centre back. He was physical, aggressive, and unafraid to rely on his ability to run short sprints to mitigate threats. Not an altogether awful backup, though the open nature of the match suited him more than dealing with physical target men.

MAN OF THE MATCH — I struggled with the Gibbs/Oxlade-Chamberlain choice for man of the match, but ties- in my mind- go to the defender. Gibbs locked the left side down very well and made a couple huge tackles in vulnerable positions. That, coupled with his play going forward and combining with Alexis, sees the England international take the MOTM tonight.

He may not be the DM we want, but his ability to turn the wheels is really wonderful. Hungry defensively, with a couple very special standing challenges, Arteta seems to be growing into this role. There’s never been any doubt about his ability to distribute from the back, but he’s turning into a serviceable DM. The injury picked up in the second half is concerning, as Arteta is an extremely important part of this squad.  

Wenger’s determination to play Ramsey into form is being rewarded. He didn’t score, but Ramsey is finding himself in this squad again. The stupid mistakes of past weeks weren’t there, while his decision making based on the evolution of the match was on par with last year.

He’s a monster. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the footballer that, should I ever be in charge of a squad, is my dream product. Fast, physical, and tenacious, he’s willing to poke it past a defender and then beat him or pick his way through complex passing sequences. Lucky for Arsenal, he possesses the speed for the former and the skill for the latter.

Oh, Santi. When in this type of form, Santi Cazorla is a top five Premier League attacking midfielder. Threw himself all over the pitch tonight and bamboozled defenders more than once. And that long ball? Sumptuous.  

It’s difficult to really point to negatives when Alexis is on the pitch. His work rate alone forgives most of his mistakes and the goals are icing on the cake. However, a 56% pass completion rate isn’t good enough, and a team that’s more switched on than Dortmund can punish that much more effectively. Wonderful goal, though.

Proud to say I was alive when Sanogo scored his first goal. Not sure it was ever coming, but he did stay calm in front of goal and slotted home nicely. Should have definitely registered a shot on target when released a few minutes later, but we’ll cut the kid a little slack.

Always a bit scary when he comes on. Nice and aggressive in defence on one hand…slow and very red-cardy on the other. No grave mistakes tonight, and deputised for the injured Arteta nicely.  

Passed over in favor of Sanogo for the start, Poldi saw about fourteen minutes of action in which he did little. I wouldn’t see that necessarily as a vindication of Wenger’s decision to pull the trigger on Sanogo. Getting piecemeal minutes here and there doesn’t put a striker in form.

Came on for the Ox and completed a pass. And then the match ended. But still…100% pass completion.