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Guimaraes and Raya crucial – Sunderland v Arsenal player ratings
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Published
Bruno Guimaraes’ thunderbolt – 121 seconds after David Raya saved a penalty – helped a sub-par Arsenal maintain their 100% start to their Premier League title defence with a 2-0 win against Sunderland.
Here’s how I rated the players and you can see how you scored them below.
Sunderland
Robin Roefs: Poor distribution – two goal-kicks went straight out of play. Hardly troubled in the first half but made a fine save to tip over Kai Havertz’s acrobatic effort. 6
Thomas Meunier: Offered a threat on second balls from set pieces but couldn’t covert a couple of half chances. Tracked back to help defensively. 6
Nordi Mukiele: Kept Christos Tzolis quiet and provided a good outlet on break, but didn’t pick out the right passes. Weak shot when right in front of goal at 1-0 down. Forced Raya into saves with two late chances but should have scored the second. 6
Kevin Danso: An unspectacular but assured home debut. 6
Dan Ballard: Defensively solid as ever and coped well with Arsenal‘s press. Should have scored from Xhaka free-kick, but won a penalty. 7
Reinildo Mandava: Largely contained Bukayo Saka, though was baited into fouling him and getting booked. Conceded late penalty and sent off. 4
Nilson Angulo: Lively on the wing and diligent in tracking back, but he should have run at Ben White and Ezri Konsa more. 6
Noah Sadiki: Showed willingness to get forward but also track back, but final ball lacked quality. 6
Granit Xhaka: Produced quality set-piece deliveries and busy as ever in midfield. Made a goal-saving clearance with the last kick of the first half. 7
Enzo Le Fee: Alert and always eager to drive attacks, but telegraphed his soft penalty. 6
Brian Brobbey: Made the lives of Konsa and White miserable all evening with his strength and hold-up play. Created space for others but didn’t get any shots away, though that wasn’t his brief tonight. 7
Subs:
Wilson Isidor (on 70, Angulo): 6
Malick Fofana (on 75, Meunier): 6
Subs not used: Dayann Methalie, Chemsdine Talbi, Chris Rigg, Luke O’Nien, Omar Alderete, Melker Ellborg, Trai Hulme.
Arsenal
David Raya: Little to do until he made a superb penalty save with Arsenal struggling. 8
Ben White: Got into some promising positions with overlapping runs, but looked lightweight when defending. Replaced at the break. 5
Gabriel Magalhaes: Strong in tackles and decent on the ball, but not without his usual theatrics – went down injured then complained when told to leave the field as per the rules. 6
Ezri Konsa: Struggled to deal with Brobbey and looked unconvincing on the ball when pressed. Conceded penalty for hauling down Ballard. 4
Ricardo Calafiori: Solid as usual but didn’t provide his usual offensive threat. 6
Myles Lewis-Skelly: Lucky to escape an early booking, sloppy on the ball and withdrawn at half-time. 4
Declan Rice: Hard-working as ever both with and without the ball. Created a great chance for Saka at 0-0, but otherwise a bit sloppy. Recognised opportunity to tee up Guimaraes. 6
Bukayo Saka: Should have opened the scoring but failed to make proper contact. Kept largely quiet and missed one-on-one chance late on. Won late penalty and scored – just. 6
Martin Odegaard: Unable to continue his blistering start to the season. Good free-kick delivery. 6
Christos Tzolis: Looked lively early on but faded. 5
Kai Havertz: Missed a clear chance at 0-0 but almost scored a brilliant effort minutes later. Tried to square when he had the chance to put the game to bed. 6
Subs:
Jurrien Timber (on 45, White): Did a better job up against Angulo and Brobbey and proactive in winning the ball back. Headed in but caught offside. 6
Bruno Guimaraes (on 45, Lewis-Skelly): Brilliant strike moments after Raya’s penalty save at a time Arsenal needed help. Not a bad way to score your first goal. 7
Martin Zubimendi (on 81, Rice) 6
Eberechi Eze (on 81, Tzolis) 6
Mikel Merino (on 85, Odegaard) 6
Subs not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Piero Hincapie, Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke.
How did you rate the players?
Player of the match
Average Rating: 5.99
Average Rating: 5.77
Average Rating: 5.70
Average Rating: 5.61
Average Rating: 5.33
Average Rating: 5.15
Average Rating: 4.99
Average Rating: 4.97
Average Rating: 4.88
Average Rating: 4.87
Average Rating: 4.86
Average Rating: 4.82
Average Rating: 4.71
Average Rating: 8.91
Average Rating: 8.05
Average Rating: 7.36
Average Rating: 7.33
Average Rating: 7.29
Average Rating: 7.19
Average Rating: 7.16
Average Rating: 7.04
Average Rating: 6.95
Average Rating: 6.77
Average Rating: 6.73
Average Rating: 6.44
Average Rating: 6.38
Average Rating: 6.27
Average Rating: 6.25
Average Rating: 6.08
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.
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Published8 June
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