Arsenal ratings: Lacazette the bright spark but same old woes at the back cost Gunners in 2-1 defeat at Tottenham
ARSENAL striker Alexandre Lacazette’s worldie was the only bright spark as the Gunners went down 2-1 to rivals Spurs.
Mikel Arteta’s men dominated for large parts but conceded an equaliser 137 seconds after Lacazette’s spectacular 16th minute opener.
Sead Kolasinac’s dreadful pass let Son Heung-Min in to dink over Emiliano Martinez.
The Gunners started the second half with more intent than their opponents but came unstuck at a corner when Son found the head of Toby Alderweireld to win the game with nine minutes left.
After the first North London derby at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, here is how SunSport’s Josh Graham rated the Arsenal performances.
Emiliano Martinez – 6/10
Forced into action barely 30 seconds in before later watching Son dink the ball over him.
Looked sharp often sprinting out of goal to deny Spurs, did his No1 claim no harm despite conceding twice.
Shkodran Mustafi – 4
The German returned to his shoddy former self when letting Harry Kane nip past him too easily after the break.
At least twice he dived in needlessly letting Tottenham players skip past him as if he was not even there.
David Luiz – 5
Turned with the speed of a cruise ship as Son raced clear for his goal but the Brazilian was ultimately betrayed by the ball from Sead Kolasinac.
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Sead Kolasinac – 3
Woefully wayward pass left David Luiz in desperate trouble for Son’s opener.
Never recovered.
Hector Bellerin – 6
Impressed on the right, especially going forward.
Had the pace to keep Lucas Moura quiet for the most part.
Kieran Tierney – 5
Plenty of endeavour down the left but sometimes just missing the final ball.
Outjumped by Toby Alderweireld for Spurs’ second goal.
Dani Ceballos – 6
Not at his best in the first 45, criminally thumped a dangerous free-kick straight into the advertising hoardings.
Woke up after the break and started bossing proceedings when Arsenal had the ball, could argue he got the better of Harry Winks.
Granit Xhaka – 6
Influential in setting up Alexandre Lacazette’s thumping effort.
Continues to silently regain the fans’ trust after the horror episode at the Emirates last year.
Nicolas Pepe – 6
Caught in possession early, but came back well.
Always a threat, cutting onto his left and looked bouyed by Mikel Arteta’s complimentary pre-game words.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6
Went close with a first-half free-kick.
Grew into the game, smashed the crossbar with a left-foot effort.
Alexandre Lacazette – 8
Opened the scoring with an absolute worldie.
Held the ball up expertly but his efforts weren’t matched by his team-mates.
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Bukayo Saka (on for Pepe, 69) – 5
Frustration saw him earn a yellow card after coming on.