Arsenal 5-1 Man City player ratings: Odegaard strikes early as Lewis-Skelly comes of age to keep ruthless Gunners title hopes alive | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta understood that anything less than a victory against the reigning champions, Manchester City, could effectively end Arsenal‘s hopes of winning the Premier League this season.

Overhauling a formidable Liverpool side that holds a six-point lead and has played one fewer game, with 14 matches left in the season, appears to be a daunting challenge. However, the key is to stay within striking distance and hope Arne Slot’s men experience a downturn.

Tonight in North London, the Gunners exorcised some demons as their recent performances against Manchester City had left much to be desired. This victory marks the first time since the period between 2005-06 and 2008-09 that they have won consecutive home league games against City, achieving a total of four wins in that span.

After finishing as runners-up to Guardiola’s team in the last two Premier League seasons, this 5-1 victory felt particularly satisfying. Martin Ødegaard started the scoring early in the match, before his fellow countryman Erling Haaland equalised. Once that goal went in, the floodgates opened: Thomas Partey, young talent Myles Lewis-Skelly, the often-criticized Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri all found the back of the net.

This is the fourth time this season that Manchester City have conceded four or more goals in all competitions, marking the highest tally ever for a team managed by Guardiola in a single campaign. Additionally, it’s the first time since February 2003 that Arsenal scored four or more goals in a Premier League match against Manchester City, achieving a 5-1 away victory.

Arsenal player ratings

David Raya: 65%

Unlucky not to have finished the game with another clean sheet. His incredible save from Gvardiol following a City corner could be recognised as one of the best saves of the season in the Premier League. Additionally, he made another crucial stop just before halftime to deny Savinho.

Myles Lewis-Skelly: 68%

He was at the centre of last weekend’s refereeing controversy, but Lewis-Skelly, who plays well beyond his years, put that behind him with an impressive performance at left-back while also scoring Arsenal’s third goal. He is the youngest player to score in the Premier League against the reigning champions since Wayne Rooney netted for Everton against Arsenal in March 2003 (17y 150d).

Gabriel Magalhães: 64%

Gabriel, the more attack-minded centre-back for Arsenal, completed eight passes into the final third. He also maintained a tidy possession with a retention rate of 91.55%.

William Saliba: 62%

Another commanding performance from the French international who registered an impressive 93.75% retention rate. He also won half of his aerial duels and all of his ground duels.

Jurriën Timber: 60%

Timber provided a steady presence along Arsenal’s right flank, playing a more conservative role to keep an eye on the often explosive Savinho and Gvardiol, who is known for his aggressive runs down City’s left side. Timber recorded three clearances during the match.

Declan Rice: 76%

Delivered two assists (with one being intentional) in another outstanding performance from the England international. No one on the field created more chances than Rice (four). He achieved a 100% take-on success rate with two interceptions that resulted in possession won.

Thomas Partey: 71%

After being urged by the Emirates fans to shoot, he did so, quickly restoring Arsenal’s lead just moments after Haaland equalised.

Martin Ødegaard: 75%

Scored the Gunners earliest Premier League goal since December 2022 against Brighton (Saka after 65 seconds). After that, Ødegaard seemed to withdraw from the game and left the pitch minutes before the end without making a single take-on attempt or creating any chances. However, he contributed by recycling possession higher up the field, completing 14 passes into the final third—with only Rice producing more than any Arsenal player.

Leandro Trossard: 55%

Played a pivotal role in the build-up to Arsenal’s first goal, but Trossard was seldom involved in any of the Gunners’ attacks. He finished the game without creating a single goalscoring opportunity or having an attempt on goal. He did though complete three of his four attempted take-ons.

Kai Havertz: 78%

He provided an intentional assist that put Arsenal in front but missed a glaring opportunity just yards from the goal, with the net almost wide open, to double the hosts’ lead. “He didn’t want it! Havertz is having a confidence crisis,” exclaimed Gary Neville during the Sky Sports commentary. However, the German international had the last laugh as he scored Arsenal’s fourth goal, cutting in from the right onto his favoured left foot.

Gabriel Martinelli: 63%

Martinelli made a single attempt on goal, which was on target, giving him an overall xG of 0.17. This was frustratingly the best score among all Arsenal players, even though five of his teammates managed to find the net while he did not.

Man City player ratings

Stefan Ortega: 53%

Let down by his defence, particularly by Stones, he could do nothing about Arsenal’s second goal, while the first came at him so quickly that he was not expecting his teammates to concede possession deep in their final third. He should have done better for Lewis-Skelly’s effort.

Josko Gvardiol: 63%

Unlucky not to have equalised with his brilliant header, which Raya wonderfully denied, his influence diminished as Arsenal gained control of the game. Due to the pressure exerted by the hosts, Gvardiol was forced to make seven clearances.

John Stones: 55%

Stones made a risky pass to Manuel Akanji, which led to Arsenal’s opener. He also kept everyone onside as Martin Odegaard scored to put the hosts in front. Stones was again involved as Arsenal regained the lead when he deflected Thomas Partey’s shot past a stationary Ortega.

Manuel Akanji: 49%

It goes down as an ‘error leading to a goal,’ but there wasn’t much Akanji could have done when Trossard intercepted his first touch of the game. The ball then spilled to Havertz, who quickly passed it to Odegaard, leading to the game’s breakthrough.

Matheus Nunes: 48%

This experiment isn’t doing Matheus Nunes any favours, as the makeshift right-back for City is often caught out of position. It didn’t help that two of the Gunners’ star performers, Lewis-Skelly and Rice, played in his area. Nunes managed only one interception that won possession and two successful tackles, which highlighted his lethargic performance.

Mateo Kovacic: 57%

He’s usually better than this, but even the best players can be overwhelmed from time to time. Kovacic won three tackles and had a 100% forward passing accuracy. However, as soon as Arsenal took control of the game and, crucially, the midfield battle, the Croatian international became a mere spectator.

Bernardo Silva: 46%

Playing in a deeper role, Silva was expected to be the playmaker for this City team, and he has shown the capability to do so. However, frustration often hindered his performance. He ended up creating no goal-scoring opportunities and had a passing accuracy below 90%, which is unthinkable for a City player in this position.

Savinho: 72%

Back in the Premier League starting lineup after his impressive performance off the bench against Brugge earlier this week. He somewhat fulfilled his part of the bargain with assistance from two chances created. Savinho also produced 22 passes into the final third, a total only surpassed by Akanji (25) in a City jersey.

Omar Marmoush: 58%

Marmoush has had a rollercoaster start to his City career. In this game, he created three chances, but none were classified as ‘big chances.’ There are enough signs to suggest he could become a promising star for the Manchester club, but today might have been an off day for him.

Phil Foden: 49%

Foden made a poor pass shortly after Manchester City equalised. Partey seized the opportunity and punished the champions. Summed up his performance with last season’s ‘player of the year’ often invisible.

Erling Haaland: 68%

Made up for his lack of touches in the opening half by bringing the sides level ten minutes into the second. A well-executed header that had the better of Saliba, but that was it for the once-feared Norwegian marksman who is going through a downturn even if the numbers don’t suggest it.

How do Squawka player ratings work?

Squawka’s new player rating system is wholly stats-based. Player scores are based on the numbers they put up across a range of on-ball events, from goals scored to tackles won.

We tailored each score to the players’ respective positions using extensive research and expertise. For example, forwards are rated on metrics like shots on target, touches in the opposition box, and big chances created. Meanwhile, centre-backs are rewarded for winning aerial duels, making blocks, successful long-range passes, etc.

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