AC Milan vs. Arsenal: Rating the Gunners' Players at the San Siro

There's no way around it: Arsenal played poorly Wednesday night in a 4-0 loss to AC Milan at the San Siro.

The defense struggled to contain Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho and Kevin-Prince Boateng, all of whom scored. The midfield lacked cohesion and often fell victim to swift counter-attacks. The attack, until the second half, was basically Robin van Persie sitting alone on an island.

Arsenal still have a chance to turn around the tie in three weeks' time when Milan visit London. But realistically speaking, Arsenal are out of Europe.

Player ratings are below.

Goalkeeper

Wojciech Szczesny: 5.5

It seems cruel to fault Szczesny for any of Milan's goals. His defense let him down repeatedly.

Still, although stopping Boateng's shot was probably not possible, Szczesny was alarmingly far from it. High shots continue to be an issue.

Defenders

Kieran Gibbs: 5.0

Gibbs pushed forward well early in the first half. The rest of the time he struggled.

Laurent Koscielny: 6.0

Koscielny was probably Arsenal's best player when he left the game because of a first-half injury—not that it's saying much. Koz struggled to match up physically with Ibrahimovic, but he did so admirably and seemingly with enthusiasm—something few of his teammates showed.

Thomas Vermaelen: 4.5

Vermaelen nearly gifted Ibrahimovic a goal when he allowed a long first-half pass to roll…and roll…and roll…until Szczesny finally collected it.

Then Vermaelen did allow a goal early in the second half when he fell down while marking Robinho. All around, Tommy V had a poor game.

Bacary Sagna: 5.5

Sagna got involved in the attack early, but like Gibbs found defending difficult. Theo Walcott supplied absolutely no help in front of him.

Midfielders

Theo Walcott: 3.0

Was he on the pitch at all? Shameful.

Alex Song: 5.0

Curiously, despite Arsenal's lack of offensive production, AC Milan had several counter-attacking chances. That's on Arsenal's holding midfielders and their lack of attention to shape.

Song and Arteta both had trouble dealing with Milan's midfield and providing cover to the back four. And the back four needed it.

Mikel Arteta: 4.5

See above. Arteta also gave away possession regularly in the first half. He looked out of sorts.

Tomas Rosicky: 5.0

Rosicky was mostly a non-factor on the wing. It's hard to understand why Wenger played him there ahead of Ox.

Aaron Ramsey: 4.5

Like Walcott, Ramsey disappeared for long stretches. That was especially true when he moved to the wing in the second half.

Forward

Robin van Persie: 6.0

It's hard to fault Van Persie. He was all by himself in the attack and he received almost zero service.

Maybe he could have dropped deeper in an effort to see more of the ball, but Arsenal were already playing too negatively as it was. His volleyed shot in the second half was worthy of a goal.

Substitutes

Johan Djourou: 3.0

Nice rugby tackle, Johan. Not good enough for this level. Maybe there's a spot for you in the NFL.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 5.5

Ox entered the match after it was out of reach, but he worked hard on the wing and played a few dangerous crosses. That's much more than Walcott or Rosicky did out there.

Thierry Henry: 6.0

Henry's flick set up Van Persie's second-half volley. It nearly led to a goal, and it was probably Arsenal's brightest moment on an otherwise dreary Wednesday night.