Grading the Arsenal Players on Their Champions League Performances vs. Dortmund
The entire Arsenal team put in an absolutely abject performance against Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League opener.
There is no question that the Gunners will have to improve if they want to progress from the group at all. Every player on the pitch was found wanting, and Arsene Wenger will have to adjust his tactics as well.
Let's assess each player's performance in the wake of Arsenal's first loss of the season.
Wojciech Szczesny
1 of 11
Grade: A-
Wojciech Szczesny was clearly Arsenal's best player on the day. Were it not for his repeated heroics in goal, Dortmund would have scored many more than they did.
His many saves consisted of a mix between excellent, reflexive stops and astute anticipations of the opponent's intentions.
Szczesny's rating would be a solid A if he had not foolishly charged out of his goal to deny Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who easily circumnavigated him before bouncing the ball into an empty net.
Hector Bellerin
2 of 11
Grade: C+
There was no way that Hector Bellerin, making his Champions League debut (and, for all intents and purposes, his Arsenal debut) in the cauldron of Signal Iduna Park, was going to shine.
Yet, he did not always look completely out of his depth and seemed more composed than one would expect a 19-year-old debutant to be. Though he was frequently turned around by Dortmund's relentless forwards, Bellerin never lost energy and maintained a positive attacking spirit.
Laurent Koscielny
3 of 11
Grade: C+
Neither of Arsenal's centre-backs had a particularly good night, but Laurent Koscielny was the better of the two.
He at least worked hard to snuff out Dortmund's constant threats and was scrambling to make up for the slip-ups of those ahead of him. The problem was that he was too often caught unaware of players running in behind, and Arsenal's defense was consequently shredded on numerous occasions.
Koscielny also should have done better to prevent Ciro Immobile's solo run and goal at the end of the first half.
Per Mertesacker
4 of 11
Grade: C-
Per Mertesacker usually compensates for his glaring lack of speed by reading the game in front of him and anticipating opponents' movements.
Yet, Dortmund looked much too fast for him, and Mertesacker always seemed at least two steps behind what the men in yellow were doing.
It was a shocking performance from last season's defensive stalwart. Hopefully, it was a one-off and does not indicate a dip in form because Mertesacker looked utterly exposed against elite opposition.
Kieran Gibbs
5 of 11
Grade: B-
There's not much to be said about Kieran Gibbs, really. He did not make much of an impact in his return from injury, but he was not as culpable as the rest of the back line.
He could have tracked back a bit more and stopped pushing up the pitch as much, but he was not as responsible for Arsenal's destruction as some other players.
Mikel Arteta
6 of 11
Grade: C-
Many will hastily criticize Mikel Arteta's obvious lack of speed and conclude that he is slowing down due to age and thus not fit for the holding midfield role he plays.
But he could have done so much better if he had just not pushed up the pitch so much in a desperate attempt to support his foundering fellow midfielders.
Borussia Dortmund are notoriously deadly on the counter-attack, and failing to account for this is inexcusable. He provided no protection to the defense and enabled Dortmund to run rampant.
Jack Wilshere
7 of 11
Grade: B
Jack Wilshere was Arsenal's most productive midfielder, though that does not say much.
He kept poking and prodding at Dortmund's defense but was frequently stuffed by multiple midfielders or defenders that made it impossible for him to find an outlet.
Wilshere was also unable to find passing precision or just the right touch with the ball at his feet. Even a performance like the one he put in against Manchester City last weekend would not have been enough to have much of an impact, though.
Aaron Ramsey
8 of 11
Grade: C-
This looked more like the Aaron Ramsey of 2012 than the red-hot, dynamic box-to-box midfielder who revitalized Arsenal's midfield last year.
The Welshman is usually one of the most active players on the pitch, but he was utterly anonymous until he was hauled off late in the game. There was a lot of running but no inventiveness, creation or even a hint of a threat of a goal.
Perhaps Ramsey is still carrying a knock from his international exploits with Wales. Regardless, Santi Cazorla would be a better option at the moment.
Alexis Sanchez
9 of 11
Grade: B-
On a night in which Arsenal were thoroughly outworked and outmuscled by the opposition, Alexis Sanchez deserves credit, as he always does, for working incredibly hard with and without the ball.
He might not have made many positive contributions in Dortmund's third (no one did, really), but he popped up in every area of the pitch to either shepherd the ball out of trouble or press a Dortmund player.
Perhaps if every Arsenal player worked as hard as Sanchez did the Gunners would have at least registered a few more shots on goal.
Mesut Ozil
10 of 11
Grade: D
Every Arsenal fan knows that Mesut Ozil's best position is in central attacking midfield. Wenger thinks, at least for the moment, that it is on the left or right wing.
Right now, though, Ozil would be best served by taking a place on the bench.
As Andrew Mangan wrote recently, Arsenal's formation is not hurting Ozil; he is just in an awful spell of form. Continuing to hinder the team, and being vilified in the process, is not going to help him find his feet again.
He needs to yield to Santi Cazorla or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for a couple of games and work on the training ground. Hopefully, he will come back refreshed and able to have some kind of impact on a game.
Danny Welbeck
11 of 11
Grade: C
Danny Welbeck's performance was much like his debut against Manchester City last weekend in that he had a golden opportunity to open his Arsenal account but was found wanting for the entire game.
There is potential in the Englishman's legs, to be sure (At least he's at a Champions League club). But he needs to capitalize on the kinds of opportunities that only arise once or twice per game. When presented with a one-on-one against Roman Weidenfeller, he bounced the ball wide of goal when he should have put Arsenal up 1-0.
Welbeck is certainly allowed a bedding-in period, but he knows he will have to be much more clinical against tougher competition.
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