Arsenal star gets brutal rating for PSG performance as Mikel Arteta slammed

Arsenal largely disappointed in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, with Ousmane Dembele handing the French side a slim advantage

Arsenal star Jurrien Timber has been handed a dismal 3/10 rating by L’Equipe for his performance in the defeat to PSG on Tuesday. The Gunners hosted the French giants in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.

Ousmane Dembele’s goal just four minutes into the game proved to be the difference between the two sides. It leaves the Premier League side facing an uphill battle ahead of next week’s second leg at the Parc des Princes.

While PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was forced to pull off a number of saves, Arsenal largely disappointed. That fact has not been lost on the journalists at L’Equipe, who have delivered brutal ratings for the Gunners.

The French sports paper is notorious for its harsh marking, with only 15 players in history having achieved a perfect 10/10 rating. Unsurprisingly, none of Arsenal’s players scored anywhere near that, with just three having a rating higher than 5/10.

Timber was the lowest scorer at just 3/10, having lost seven of his defensive duels and committed four fouls. Captain Martin Odegaard, star winger Bukayo Saka and midfielder Mikel Merino were also slated.

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The trio were all handed a score of just 4/10 for their performances at the Emirates. Elsewhere, centre-back partners William Saliba and Jakub Kiwior, winger Gabriel Martinelli and forward Leandro Trossard earned scored of 5/10.

The only three to score higher than a five were keeper David Raya, left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly and midfielder Declan Rice, who were all marked 6/10. That left the Gunners with an average score of just 4.8 out of 10.

Boss Mikel Arteta also failed to impress L’Equipe’s scorers, with the Spaniard handed a mark of only 5/10. By contrast, his PSG counterpart Luis Enrique earned a solid 7/10 for masterminding a crucial away win.

Les Parisiens had just two players to scorer lower than a 6/10, with Achraf Hakimi and winger Desire Doue both handed 5/10. Captain Marquinhos, midfielder Joao Neves, defender Willian Pacho and attacker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia earned marks of 6/10.

Nuno Mendes, scorer Dembele and midfielder Vitinha earned marks of 7/10. Following his saves, Donnraumma earned a score of 8/10, while midfielder Fabian Ruiz was handed the same as the Italian.

That left them with an average score of 6.8 out of 10 overall. Gunners boss Arteta insisted his side still have a chance to make it to their first Champions League final since 2006, but admitted they had disappointed.

“We’re at half-time. Half-time and my message is exactly the same following us beating Real Madrid at home 3-0 – that we have to go to Paris and win the game. We are more than capable of doing it because I saw two very good teams with margins that are so small,” he said.

“They had efficiency in front of the goal and their keeper as well made a difference to see the result that we’ve seen tonight.He made the saves like he did against Liverpool and Villa and that’s the difference in the Champions League, the margins are so small.

“This is one of the best, beating all the English teams, the best teams in this country. You cannot dominate this team in 95 minutes. Impossible. Forget about it. You have to understand what it means dominating them and in which area of the pitch.”

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