Arsenal v Manchester United Player Ratings: By Alexander David Walsh

Arsenal struggled in a frustrating game against a Man Utd side that was up for the task in New Jersey. The Gunners suffered a 0-2 defeat in a pre-season friendly that wasn't very friendly in the slightest. In the following section, I will be rating the performances of Arsenal players from 1 to 5.

Aaron Ramsdale:

I must say this was one of Ramsdale's worst performances in an Arsenal shirt. He struggled with both long and short passes from the back, and he failed to save both efforts when tested in the first half. He should have done better, especially on the goal scored by Bruno Fernandes. It might sound harsh, but I will have to give him a 1.

Takehiro Tomiyasu:

One of the few players in the Arsenal side that, I think, did okay. He performed well when moving forward in the beginning of the first half, but he struggled with the long balls from Man Utd. The thing I love about Tomiyasu is how versatile he is. He’s played most of his games for Arsenal as a right back, today however he was deployed as a left back. 2

Gabriel:

Like Ramsdale it was quite a shocker of a performance from the Brazilian defender, who single handedly gave United their second goal. He seemed to lack concentration today, which resulted in multiple individual errors. 1

William Saliba:

Didn’t make any individual errors like Ramsdale and Gabriel but struggled at times with his positioning with Timber pushing quite far up at times. Can’t give him any higher than 2 after conceding 2 goals.

Jürrien Timber:

It looks like Arteta and Edu has made some good business getting Timber for 34 million pounds, considering how inflated today’s market is. He will have to find his place in the team, but boy he looks good. Wins most duels and is sharp on the ball, I’m very excited to see him in the upcoming season. 3

Declan Rice:

Like the other new signings, it will take some time before he settles in. He made some good recoveries, but the dynamic of that midfield trio just didn’t seem to click this game. It will be interesting to see if Arteta will try Rice and Partey in the same lineup in the next game. 3

Martin Ødegaard:

The Norweigian maestro struggled in the new midfield constellation and never got hold of the game, like he usually does. At times him, Saka and Timber linked up well on the right side. After seing the way he performed last season, you would have expected more from the skipper though.3

Kai Havertz:

Completely anonymous in the first half and really struggled to find his place in the team. He came with a big price tag, but Arsenal fans might need a bit of patience with the tall German. Ødegaard managed to find him in the box through a cross in the second half, but his headed effort was saved by Heaton in goal. 2

Bukayo Saka:

He was pretty much at the heart of everything and, as usual, was kicked by numerous United players. He created a massive double chance in the first half, which, unfortunately, Martinelli couldn't finish. Kept taking on Luke Shaw who struggled, but Saka never got the breakthrough. 4

Gabriel Martinelli:

Probably the second-best Arsenal player after Bukayo Saka. He missed a huge double chance in the first half, which he should have scored from. He almost cost a goal in the second half but did well to recover and prevent it. However, his rating will have to be a 3, as he really should have scored.

Eddie Nketiah:

Will be disappointed with his performance, but to be fair to him, he didn’t get much support from a dysfunctional midfield. He did well to run in behind on a freekick but lacked composure dragging the shot wide. Many fans will be on the back of him after today’s performance, however the lack of service must be taken into consideration.  2

Substitutions:

I haven’t given out ratings to any of the substitutions as none of them really got to make any impact on the game. Most of them came on quite late in the game.

Kieran Tierney:

Saw plenty of the ball on that left side of the pitch and managed to put in some decent crosses.

Emile Smith-Rowe

Again, no rating but it was interesting to see him in that left midfield role, that Xhaka occupied last season. Looks like that’s where Arteta will utilize him this upcoming season.

The Arsenal Vs Manchester United official match attendance here in New Jersey has been announced as a record breaking 82,262 pic.twitter.com/BEVs8ID6Ni

— Layth (@laythy29) July 22, 2023