Player ratings: Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Arsenal

Arsenal made a brilliant start to their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win away in Bilbao.

It was a tight game for the most part, with Arsenal creating the slightly better chances and growing into the fixture after a tough opening 25 minutes.

We saw the real value of squad depth in this one, with Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli both coming off the bench to score and assist a goal.

Arsenal’s win puts them in a strong position for top eight qualification, given this was one of the tougher matchups they had. Next up in the competition, the Gunners host Olympiacos at home in a couple of weeks.

Rate the players below and see the fan averages, and scroll down to see my ratings. 

Here’s how I rated the players:

David Raya – 8

Jurrien Timber – 8

Cristhian Mosquera – 8

Gabriel – 9

Riccardo Calafiori – 8

Martin Zubimendi – 6

Mikel Merino – 6

Declan Rice – 5

Noni Madueke – 6.5 – Fantastic 1v1 but does need to improve that end product to truly compete with Saka on his return.

Viktor Gyokeres – 7 – Thought this was a really good display from Viktor in the first half. The head injury looked to impact him a bit and probably played it’s part in the early substitution.

Ebere Eze – 6

Men of the match: Gabriel. Don’t take for granted how important he has been to helping Mosquera settle in seamlessly. Cristhian was brilliant as well, but a bit shaky at the start and Gabriel helped settle him and the whole team. Arsenal have now conceded just one goal in their five games, and that was the unstoppable free-kick at Anfield.

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