Arsenal got the new Premier League season off to a winning start, beating Newcastle United 1-0 thanks to a 58th minute goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
There were also debuts for Dani Ceballos, Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel Martinelli.
Read the report and see the goal here.
Here’s how the players rated this afternoon. Please note: We still have to get some updated images and numbers for some of the squad, but we’ll sort that out this week.
Ratings
The ratings are now hidden by default until you vote, but if you just want to view the ratings and the comments, flick the switch at the top above Bernd Leno. Also, give the ratings a few seconds to load.
Hey arsblog, could you make a page keeping the average ratings for the players through the season?
ANM MOTM.
absolutely please do this!! +1
That would be amazing
That would be awesome
I think it would be amazing, awesome and a jolly good idea.
Top top quality request
Spreadsheet with updating graph/graphic for the squad/individual players please! 😀
I will ask our developer if this is possible!
u might did this for a reason but can u enable the comment section for the podcasts please? bussis
Could you ask the developers if they could create an algorithm so that we can vote who should play each week, with a hot line straight to Emery, so that Arseblog users can democratically decide our team each week?
Not too much to ask, is it?
If your dev is too busy, I can write a plug-in for you. Anything to help out arseblog. Your awesome blog is payment enough. 😉
Thanks, he’s gonna sort it out
If your developer denies, I can help out!
Cheers!
I am a developer may be i can help 😛
Thank you 😉
Thanks ?
A weighted avg could be good. Arseblog’s own rating can be given a weightage of around 50% and the commentrs’ ratings the other half of the weight. This would prevent some sp*rsy elements from ‘hijacking’ the vote entirely.
Yes please!
Great idea! Would be cool if you could filter by competition too
Asking a bit much now, aren’t you…
That’s a good idea
fab idea!
ANM – Ainsley Naitland Miles?
AMN = Arsenal Need Mustafi ????
Just kidding ???
ANM * ???
Ainsley Naitland-Miles did look good today
Ceballos still thinks he’s in Spain & coming on against Valladolid in the 70th min with Madrid leading 4-0 😉
Joking aside, debuting in the PL isn’t easy for anyone, and I look forward to seeing him on the pitch again soon!
For me, apart from those two losses of possession he had in his first five mins, he was one of the better players of he last 20. He feels quite similar to Thiago, in the best and worst ways.
Tried too hard with a missed backheel and ended up giving away the ball three times in the middle of the pitch. One of them with a pass from the side line to the middle of our own penalty box that was received by some Newcastle bloke. Could have ended way worse. Hope he starts by doing the basics
He comes from a team that has the odds stacked heavily in their favour when they play most of their league games. The teams they face don’t really believe that they can win against them so their players don’t add that extra yard of speed to their game. They don’t have opposition players crawling all over them in the way that happens in the PL. Ceballos almost certainly didn’t expect the Newcastle players to make such an effort to intercept his passes. This game was a vital part of his education in English football and he will be much sharper… Read more »
Also think he has a little bit of the famed Arseblog ‘shithousery’ that we all enjoy. That block on the ball to send it miles out before a goal kick in the 85th min or so, and he got nailed a few times in this game (and obviously against Barca) and got immediately back up. No arms in the air, no pleading eyes with the ref, just straight back at it. Think we might have a bit of a fighter on our hands.
I thought the exact same thing watching him play!!
He learnt from his mistakes quickly didn’t he?
Not to mention the weather in the north east is probably quite a shock haha
Guendouzi absolutely bossed it today. We have a real talent on our hands
Thought he got about the pitch well and demanded the ball but otherwise i didn’t pick up on anything else. Could you elaborate on how he bossed it? (This isn’t sarcasm)
He drove the team forward, frequently received the ball with marker(s) on him and did not look fazed at all. Last season, he had the tendencies to be caught on the ball so was nice to see, though one game in, he’s making real strides. All you can ask from a young talent is improvement and he’s one that we should look forward to seeing more in the centre of the pitch
in my opinion – he always makes himself available for a pass, and doesn’t hide, like you said. he’s constantly moving. he keeps his head up and makes simple, effective forward passes (mostly). he’s got a real knack for dribbling out of trouble with relative ease, especially for a 20 year old who is still growing physically. he takes quite a few hits but doesn’t sulk or put his head down. he’s very consistent. i don’t think any of those skills will make the highlight reel, but they are important for a player in his position and often go unnoticed… Read more »
You forgot to mention his hair.
you’re right. because his hair was wet it opened up his peripheral vision which allowed him to have a better idea of the surrounding defenders and not get caught on the ball. he really should tie it back or at least get mustafi to wet it before games.
“…get mustafi to wet it before games”
Thanks shbhanda, I now have a horrible image seared into my brain forever.
I agree. He had this fantastic touch and situational awareness last season as well, but now he is even sharper, he thinks quicker and passes the ball sooner.
I thought he was much better today than last year–mainly because he took the ball and turned, either to pass or to carry it forward, much more quickly than he used to. He had a habit of losing possession too often because he was unaware of a defender on his blind side; it looks like he has worked on that.
El Neny did/does the same but people seemed to tire of him very quickly. Same with Denilson and Arteta.
He does seem a bit more mobile/dynamic than some of the above listed, though.
I really rate him.
For me the difference is the proportion of passes that go forward, and the speed at which they go too. This may well just be bias, or just totally incorrect, but I’d be very shocked if Guendouzi didn’t send a significantly larger percentage of his passes towards the opposition goal rather than away/ equidistant from, as Denilson and Elneny did. Arteta not so much- but then most Arsenal fans I know really rather liked him?
He covered for Xhaka many times. How does Xhaka get 7. He showed his experience and helped kill the game off. He won a free kick. How many times did he pass to opposition in first half alone.
Yea, Xkhaka slows down our play too much. He’s fine if we are playing a team that sits deep, there isn’t much team that does that now though. Teammates got to play the ball to his feet and not when he’s moving. that means no 1-2, no through pass to him, that cuts off 1 passing option when we are looking for linkup play. Look at that throw-in from AMN to him, he could have move closer as he’s the open man, the ball was throw to him and he was at the same spot, waiting for the ball to… Read more »
We all know xhaka isn’t good enough but he was ok today. I think it’s a case that because he didn’t make any dangerous mistakes he gets a decent score, that’s how low the bar is with him. I’d given him a 6.5. Off topic watching the blue chavs vs the red cunts and I really think the blue chavs will really struggle this season sans hazard.
Of course Xhaka is good enough. We are always stronger when he plays. Just watch hiss great passing range and makes fewer error than some other players. He’s a worthy captain and that’s why he’s chosen most matches
I guess Xhaka is not very popular with the Arseblog followers. I don’t like his complaining, his lack of discipline, and his lack of movement, but he does have a great passing range and accuracy, and I’m always surprised by how often he gets his head on the ball on free kicks, for a mid. I expect him to step up his game a notch to stay on the pitch. Luiz can hit those long passes and take free kicks, and we have a lot of midfielders to choose from. He’ll be very useful this season, even if he gets… Read more »
My thoughts exactly on the other match. Unless Pulisic kicks in. United really looked ruthless today.
First week down, it looks like we’re the only team to win by a 1 goal margin and hence, bottom of the winning pile. Don’t mean to put a damper on things though. A cleansheet AND an away win. Those seem way more vital, considering last season.
Why do people only see the bad side of Xhaka and the exaggerate his mistakes? His passing was excellent today and overall had a fine match.
Nobody says that he’s a bad footballer. He just has his regular brainfarts and almost every one of them brings danger to our defense. And he’s at an age now where this should start to happen less regularly. If it doesn’t, I’d get rid of him, at least in the starting 11. There are people out there who can do what he can do but without these constant blackouts. Guendouzi and Willock are 2 of them, if you aks me.
We can’t say that about Willock yet. Let’s not get carried away. Today Willock was playing the 10 where you can make mistakes without a spotlight on you. Xhaka has quality and obviously the staff thinks it outweighs the negatives else Torreira would have been in there.
Really, have we jumped so quickly from Xhaka to Mustafi already?
(Honestly, I’m curious whether Chambers could emerge as an upgrade at the 6 in Xhaka’s place, given his successful year there with Fulham.)
Chambers not fast enough for DM. He had a good season w Fulham, not successful, they got relegated.
Don’t think that was all down to him, somehow, and technically, he didn’t get relegated.
Thought he used the ball intelligently, showed real awareness and didn’t get caught out on as many of those meandering runs he likes to do. Feel like he really expressed himself today, and is getting better every match.
Today I felt on build up he wasn’t doing enough to give an option (something he usually does well). Today he hid a little. Still good but I know he is better than today’s game
I have never been convinced by Guendouzi, but today he showed real quality. Nothing fancy, but did his job to perfection. Seemed to pop up everywhere. He’s still so young it’s easy to forget. This first game could be a sign he’s pushing on and I’ll be eating crow
Used the wet very well today to let the ball beat his man, very talented and smart player.
All about the result
Yes, that’s correct and we got the three points. Don’t forget though, Newcastle is one of our favourite grounds, results-wise.
Picking up maximum points elsewhere (almost anywhere else really, given our overall away performance last season) will be a real step forward.
Hopefully, we can build on this win and close that gap on the teams above us as Emery has said.
Our attack will only improve with Pepe, Laca, and Ozil. Thrilled that the defense was boringly solid today. (Er, except for Shelvey off the woodwork. Eek that was close.)
AMN passing remind me of Bellerin passing when he first appear on the stage, i forgot whether it’s munchen or dortmund
he appeared first against dortmund but i remember his interception in the goal against bayern munich
That Dortmund game was a nightmare for Bellerin if I remember right.
Niles MOM
He’s got the talent and athleticism, he just need to be given a little time and patience whilst he learns a new position, he’s a brilliant young player who’s got all the raw characteristics to become one of the best, brilliant performance today.
Guendouzi was very good today as well, there’s no 20yr olds in this league who are anywhere near Guendouzi’s level, we need to renew his contract ASAP
I think we renews his contract 6 months ago? I still think amn should play in midfield, problem is if he carries on playing rb he’ll end up being a jack of all trades. His ball control and natural composure is exceptional, perhaps his long passing could be improved but he can occasionally pick a ball out. Anyway hopefully we can see him there in the europa leaguewith a youngster playing rb
Maybe, just maybe he is a right back
Or maybe he can play both – a la lahm/alaba
Just a whinge, can you sort out the poxy ratings page. Used to look forward to reading these, but cannot be arsed to wait 3 days for them to load anymore. Seriously it can’t be that difficult. Thanks. And yes we weren’t great, but a win is a win. Take it. Move on.
Wow.
Thought guendouzi was brilliant today, some of his off the ball movements and body movements to wrong foot defenders were class, worked hard and passed well. exciting prospect with glorious hair!
Top top quality, I see Madrid or Barça coming for him soon, if you want to know exceptional players at 19-20 it becomes glaring
Auba was obviously sharp, but the others who stood out for me were both of our CBs, Reiss, and Maitland-Niles. It was a small sample size, but Martinelli looked quite overmatched, yet you can see how he’s an exciting one for the future.
Overall, a good performance and a clean sheet is always welcome with that sewn together defense and some fairly exciting forwards in the Newcastle side.
I loved Martinelli.
I am sure he will chance to play as CF, that’s his position. He will be better as years go by..
Yeah, Joelinton was excellent. Great holdup play and almost manufactured a goal out of nothing once or twice. Calum and Sokratis had to be sharp.
Martinelli looked a tad overeager and nervous which is… completely understandable
Site is banjaxed again
Wait, you mean my iPhone doesn’t have 106 viruses and I haven’t won a gift card?
Thought we looked solid defensively today, though we weren’t really under any pressure until Saint Maximin came on. AMN played great some great tackles and obviously the pass to Auba. Can’t wait to see the full strength team in action.
I thought generally everyone (bar Micky) played well, and its a decent result away from home.
Thought Chambers looked very comfortable. Lots of people don’t seem to rate him for whatever reason but I think he’s fairly solid. Has been in pre-season and was today. Good positioning, comfortable on the ball, clears it when he needs to. Him and Papa make a good combination.
I’ve been a critic of Guendouzi before too, but he was great today. Could be a really exciting second season for him.
I agree, Chambers was solid today, as was the whole back four. Xhaka and Guendouzi were good in front of them too. I think people are being a bit harsh on Mkhi today, he had some decent moments along with some dodgy ones. But we weren’t clicking completely in attack so it’s expected, he contributed enough to the team performance. Just happy we won.
I agree that the back four were solid today. Mustafi wasn’t playing … QED?
I think he has been told to find another club and hence was absent from squad. #jobhunting.
Mhki produces nothing considering his talent. He is more frustrating than someone who is actually shit. A couple of decent runs and one successful pass to Auba is how low the bar is set for him. Should be out the door after Mustafi
I watched the first half and the final 15 mins. The first half especially, his passing was abysmal! The odd one or two moments of brilliance isn’t enough for me. I wouldn’t mind seeing him out the door.
Can you imagine if Chambers hadn’t stupidly loaned out he would have played instead of Mustafi last season.
Totally agree…if we had kept him last season we would have been 3rd or 4th in the league.
Or maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t have got as many Premier League games, and he wouldn’t have developed his skillset (notably passing) by playing in CM week in week out.
Chambers’ distribution was really excellent today. A good performance as well against a physical forward which he is usually a bit weak on. This bodes well
I thought Chambers was much better today than I had expected. I hope this was the result of his quality and increased experience and not how crap Newcastle’s attack is.
Yes, I had to remind myself how poor Newcastle was in the final third when I began to think our defense was really strong. There was too much space in front of them (Xhaka?) and a better team would have made inroads into our box.
Good three points. Martinelli seems like he’ll be our dark horse this season. I really like what I see from him. Happy for him to fly under the radar until people realise they’ve been unexpectedly been hit.
Have to say I hope we can move Miki on as I think he would be suited to a slower league – maybe AC Milan can take him and Mustafi to play Italian football (aka chess)
Damn your auto correct changing lower to slower
Guendouzi’s hair looked particularly Kenny G-ish today, im glad he plays football better than him
Site and ratings not working for me
He obviously has his limitations, but I think the defence genuinely benefits from Chambers’ discipline. There was a great moment where he put pressure on their CF who had a loose touch as a result, but rather than do a Mustafi and carry on charging after it he immediately backtracked in a ‘job done for now’ way.
I really hope we don’t end up losing him!
With Luiz coming in, I thought Chambers was at risk, but it may be Papa who should be worried.
Also better as…I do have reservations about Luiz teaming with Papa, as both are very front-footed. Reminds me of the Toure-Gallas/Verm-Kos days. But Luiz and Chambers may be the better balance? In either case, great first game as I marked him as a concern.
Speaking of concerns, Mikhi……fak.
Martinelli impresses more and more every time he plays. Only 18, plaging in a new country, new team and fits like a glove. Great attitude and game intelligence, born footballers don’t need settling in, they just get going…
Thought Guendouzi was really good today. As were the Chambers and Sokratis pairing: the odd whiffy moment, but no horrors. The clean sheet was deserved. What can you say about Mkhitaryan? “For fuck’s sake,” for starters. But even he had his moments. All-in-all, when you think about our mainstay first eleven … Ozil, Lacazette, Pepe, Torreira, Ceballos, Tierney, Bellerin, Luiz … a few games from now … there’s every chance we’ll play better … much, much, better. A shut-out away win at Newcastle on a wet windy Sunday afternoon in August … what’s not to like? Could have been a… Read more »
Obvious that with the players available to start today, Xhaka had to be in the starting 11. However, I hope Emery has a plan in place to gradually phase him out. He is too ponderous on the ball and has the turning radius of a tank. Much of what he brings to the team, and some more is already provided by Guendozi
Tanks can turn on the spot
Slowly!
You think?
I was thinking of an analogy most of us could relate to…Let’s say you have a work colleague called Steve. When Steve receives emails, he tends to accidentally delete them. This causes issues for the department as his colleagues have to rush around dealing with irritated clients who have had to eventually call the office to find out why no one responded to their email. And Steve’s salary is double yours. If I was the boss of this company, I would tell Steve not to bother coming in on Monday. And I wouldn’t even tell him to his face, I’d… Read more »
If you’re the boss of the company then it’s you that hired him. Nick OUT!!!!
Willock, gonna be awesome, 3points, job done, that is all….
Oh Mhikitaryn. You anger me so much, because you are way better than this.
A very welcome clean sheet after our awful away form last season. Onwards and upwards!
How does Mhki continue to escape the criticism that Iwobi received. Alot of people here so quick to condemn Iwobi when he was the young player, through and through Arsenal academy graduate. Yet infinite excuses and chances for Mhki. Guy has been mostly trash for over a year now not including his man u performances . I feel sorry for him as he looks like he is trying hard but he just seems finished mentally. Does not look like he even enjoys playing anymore.
Chambers and Guendouzi kept it simple and solid today!
Blogs, you really don’t like Mkhitaryan very much, do you? Was he really 33% worse then our second worst players (the three subs) tonight? I think that is very harsh. “Kill your darlings” is supposedly a good advice when making film. Maybe bloggers should sometimes throw out their hangups too.
‘Was he really 33% worse’
Oh yes. Very much so.
Honestly don’t know what game people were watching. Mykhitaryan was the only player with the quality to play a final ball, as I thought Willock and Nelson could have played for a month and not created anything.
It was a 6’s all round performance with the exception of Aubameyang, whose goal was brilliantly taken and without him it was at best a draw.
Not an amazing performance but considering it’s the first game of the season, away from home, and the players we had out, it was a very good result. Auba, AMN, Chambers, Guendouzi very good. Willock and Nelson very promising. Mkhytarian very frustrating!
I really enjoyed Ceballos today. Takes balls to come on and try the things he did. He just plays the game the way I like to watch it be played. I’ll enjoy his time here. Plus the missus said he’d get it so less moaning outta her
Great disciplined performance and brilliant yellow shirts!
So nice to see the team not in blue.
I think Ceballos deserves a 10 alone for blocking the pass back to the keeper from the left back (when the ball had gone out of play). Then to follow it up with running to the ref and start gesturing for him to blow the final whistle. Just incredible, 10/10.
Right back*
It’ll be Sokratis/Luis , Chambers/L/S before Holding gets his chance to displace two of them.
I think Sokratis and Robbo are our best back two.
10/10 to Miguel Almiron for winning Wanker of the Day in a team containing Andy Carroll and Matt Richie, especially after Carroll showed up dressed like an off brand MMA fighter
6’s all round with the exception of Aubameyang who was the difference.
Pedestrian performance and without Aubameyang it was a draw. Hopefully the performances will improve as our first choice players get back.
Yeh, if Man City hadn’t of scored 5 they would have drawn as well.
And so the delusional eyes and mouths of arsenal fans are off to another flyer this season, Mhki was not that much worse than some players, AMN DID indeed mess up a lot in the 1st half, as did Xhaka, both improved 2nd half. Nelson was our best attacking player in the first half, willock was also making an extra effort and taking some risks. Otherwise we were cautious and solid, not a bad start.
Beautiful interface Arseblog!
This might turn out to be a meaningful season…excited!
Giving Xhaka and Guendouzi better ratings than Mkhitaryan, shame on you!!! The thing that is even worse than making mistakes is hiding from the game. Ceballos was playing a bad game, he didn’t play the game he wanted. But he was everywhere and was thinking forward. He asked for the ball where possible and tried to open to the other side. Xhaka is only pointing to others, he looks afraid to have the ball and is in a lot of cases not even expecting to get the ball. That is a shame.. As a midfielder it is important to find… Read more »
How can someone write close to 125 words without a single of them being correct?
Mhkitaryan a FOUR?! He was our best player! People are so unbelievably blinded by their preconceptions.
Mhki was pants, absolute fcking pants.
Caballos next Messias right? It was a total mess…again just 1 Goal, extreme lack of concentration etc.
They have to find the best suited players for their game and this rather sooner than later. If the opponent would habe been Chelsea, Liverpool, manu or mancity…than yeah we would have conceded more than 5 goals. So annoying to see risky sluggish passes allaround.
You’re absolutely right. Chelsea were bloody brilliant this weekend.
But, do you know how many goals are needed to win a game if you don’t let the other team score?
An away win if still somewhat dis-syncopated. We struggled for fluency and still issues in midfield and defense. BUT a resolute result. 1) Leno – Had to be alert. They had a number of (spurious chances) but some dangerous ones as well. Good anticipation to come out to head clear. 2) Monreal – OK performance. Some exposure at the back but also some good clearances and tried to go forward without risking at the back. I think it was important this game we did not get too enthusiastic pushing up which likely is why Unai chose to start with one… Read more »
New season, first Santi column. At least no mention of Mustafi though so that’s all good.
Going to give Santori a 6 on his first analysis of the year. Analysis was tight, not typical preachiness, arrogance was moderated and kept in check, all in all well balanced and showed some improved ability. Let’s all hope he keeps playing within himself and continues to post self moderated comments. Still needs to improve on the length, so there’s work to be done.
Thought it odd some complained about it not being a pretty performance. Thought it was thoroughly “professional” and boring in a good way haha. Tierney, Bellerin, holding, Luiz, Pepe, Ceballos, Ozil, Lacazette and Torreira all potential starters for us and none started the match so that surely bodes well.
Harsh on Miki. He is often lightweight and lacks effort, but I thought in thins game he worked hard, tried to be creative and was more careful with the ball than usual. Not a 9, but definitely worth more than 4. I think the lad is getting rated based on his reputation and past rather than latest performance.
Ratings arent loading on here or on the app
They’re working fine for me.