Bournemouth 1-2 Arsenal: Arsenal player ratings | FA Cup 2019-20
Bournemouth hosted Arsenal at the Vitality Stadium for the fourth round of the FA Cup on Monday night. The visitors came into this game on the back of a draw against Chelsea, while the home side won their previous match against Brighton.
In the first half of the game, Arsenal completely outplayed Bournemouth and scored the first goal through Bukayo Saka, who was found by Gabriel Martinelli. Soon after that, the away side doubled their advantage as Eddie Nketiah scored, who was found brilliantly by Saka.
Bournemouth never really managed to put Arsenal under pressure in the first period and as a result, they had a lot of work to do in the next 45 minutes. The hosts started the second half really well but they didn't create many great opportunities.
Arsenal managed the game really well and although Sam Surridge got a late goal for Bournemouth, it ended in a loss for Eddie Howe's side. Here, we are going to take a look at the player ratings for Arsenal.
Emiliano Martinez: 5/10
Emiliano Martinez didn't have much to do in the first period as Arsenal were dominating proceedings but he looked nervous whenever he was called upon to make a save. His punching from crosses and corners lacked conviction and his positioning was out of order as well. All in all, it wasn't such a great show by Arsenal's number two.
Hector Bellerin: 6.5/10
Hector Bellerin had a decent showing at right-back for Arsenal as he was very solid defensively and was making forward runs whenever possible. The Spaniard played one key pass on the day, along with a passing accuracy of 80%. Furthermore, he won three aerial duels, along with one interception and one clearance.
Shkodran Mustafi: 7/10
Shkodran Mustafi was by far Arsenal's best defender on the day as he kept Dominic Solanke quite for most of the game. Unfortunately, though, the German suffered an injury late on in the second period, which meant that he had to be stretched off. Mustafi had a passing accuracy of 82%, he won three aerial duels, along with two interceptions and three clearances.
Sokratis: 6.5/10
Sokratis partnered Shkodran Mustafi really well at the back as the Greek center-back marshaled Bournemouth's attackers brilliantly. The 31-year-old's positioning was astute on the day and he was absolutely dominant in the air. Sokratis had a passing accuracy of 91%, he won five aerial duels, along with one tackle and six clearances.
Bukayo Saka: 8.5/10
Bukayo Saka was Arsenal's man of the match on the day as he assisted his team's second goal and scored their first. Not only that, Saka was running up and down that left-flank constantly and not once was he found out of position. Defensively, Saka won one tackle, one interception, and two clearances. To go along with that, the youngster played two key passes with a passing accuracy of 87.5%.
Granit Xhaka: 7/10
Another game and another solid performance from Granit Xhaka, who seems to have really turned the corner under Mikel Arteta. The Swiss international played two positions against Bournemouth - left center-back in the first half and central midfield in the second. He did both those jobs brilliantly. Xhaka had a passing accuracy of 90%, to go along with two tackles, one interception and four clearances.
Matteo Guenduozi: 7/10
Matteo Guenduozi played his best game under Mikel Arteta against Bournemouth. The Frenchman was basically playing in a one-man midfield in the first half and he held his own on the ball. The youngster had a passing accuracy of almost 91% and he was doing the job of a sweeper really well. Defensively, Guenduozi won three aerial duels, to go along with four tackles, one interception, and two clearances.
Joseph Willock: 6.5/10
Joseph Willock, in the absence of Mesut Ozil, played in his favored No.10 position and he did what he always does, that is, cover every blade of grass on the pitch. Willock was finding himself in so many good attacking positions but what was lacking was the final ball.
He had two shots on goal, with one of them on target and had a passing accuracy of 85%. The youngster won two tackles on the day, to go along with two interceptions.
Nicolas Pepe: 5/10
Nicolas Pepe was Arsenal's worst outfield player on the day as he looked rusty on the right-hand side for large parts of the game and he was rightly substituted in the 68th minute. His stats tell the whole story as the right-winger had a passing accuracy of 69%, with no real defensive and attacking involvements. It was a bad day for the 24-year-old, to say the least.
Gabriel Martinelli: 6.5/10
Gabriel Martinelli started another game on the left-hand side for Arsenal and he put in an absolute shift on the day. He assisted The Gunners' opener but other than that, he didn't really have much say in the attacking department.
What he did brilliantly though, was that he tracked back and helped Bukayo Saka really well, something that would have pleased Mikel Arteta. The Brazilian had a passing accuracy of 76%, he played two key passes, made three tackles, and one clearance.
Eddie Nketiah: 7.5/10
Eddie Nketiah's decision to come back to Arsenal in January is already bearing fruits as the young striker scored what was the winning goal for Arsenal. It wasn't a hard finish but the fact that he got himself into a dangerous area tells you his poaching talents.
The Englishman was also linking up the play very well and he would have been disappointed in the second half because he got next to no service. The former Leeds United striker had a passing accuracy of 86% and won three aerial duels, to go along with one tackle.
Substitutes
Rob Holding: 5.5/10
Rob Holding came on for an injured Shkodran Mustafi and he was to blame for Bournemouth's goal as he didn't track his man and let him make a free dart inside the box. Other than that, the youngster didn't have much to do.
Dani Ceballos: N/A
Came on very late, didn't have much impact on the game.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles: N/A
Came on very late and didn't have much time to make an impact on the game.