Arsenal player ratings as Petr Cech gets just 5 in defeat at Bournemouth

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  • Petr Cech was part at fault for Bournemouth's equaliser.

    Alexis Sanchez’s exclusion from Arsenal’s squad for the trip to the South Coast was without doubt the main story plotline ahead of the match, but the Gunners’ inability to hold on to a lead will make the headlines on Monday.

    From the stands, Arsene Wenger watched his men capitulate and lose 2-1 having gone in front through Hector Bellerin.

    Perhaps, this was an early indicator of what life will be like without Sanchez or Mesut Ozil as the Cherries recorded their first ever victory over the north London club.

    Here, we look at how Arsenal stars rated:

    ARSENAL

    Petr Cech: Arsenal’s captain but he didn’t lead by example, as his howler – coming for the ball and not getting there – proved costly for Callum Wilson’s equaliser. Could have done better for the second, too. 5

    Calum Chambers: Terrific block at backend of first-half to deny a certain goal from Ryan Fraser but faded and couldn’t track Wilson’s run for goal. Wasn’t too clever for second either. Subbed in second-half. 5

    Shkodran Mustafi: Out of position for the first goal and seemed to struggle communicating with the rest of Arsenal’s backline as the away team squandered their lead and fell apart. 5

    Rob Holding: Looked out of his depth but Arsenal midfield offered little protection as he, Mustafi and Chambers failed to deal with Bournemouth’s second-half onslaught and were punished. 5

    Hector Bellerin: Defensively very poor with his positional play but did pop up with a goal following his with well-timed run. Not good enough all-round though. 6

    Granit Xhaka: Ball-watching for Bournemouth’s winner when he could have tracked run of Jordan Ibe. Picked a pass during sequence which led to Gunners’ goal but otherwise ineffective and lacked defensive responsibilities. 5

    Jack Wilshere: Arsenal’s standout performer on his return to the Vitality Stadium. Had more touches than any other player and tried everything to get his team going but others didn’t follow. 7

    Ainsley Maitland-Niles: Hit the bar in the opening period and played nicely but at fault for allowing Ryan Fraser a bit too much space to deliver telling ball into area for equaliser. 5

    Alex Iwobi: Lucky to escape blatant handball in first-half in what was lapse of concentration. But, recovered, and supplied sublime through ball to Bellerin for Arsenal’s goal. 6

    Danny Welbeck: A frustrating winter afternoon for the forward who didn’t get much joy on the left-side apart from a chance in the first-half when he was unable to keep his footing. 5

    Alexandre Lacazette: A passenger throughout and struggled to have any real meaningful impact on the contest. Lasted 90 minutes but failed to register shot on goal. 4

    SUBSTITUTES

    Aaron Ramsey: Guilty of ball-watching for second goal and made little impact after being brought on for Chambers with just under 20 minutes to play. 5

    Theo Walcott: Came on for Iwobi with 15 minutes to go on possibly his last appearance for the club with a move to Everton apparently imminent. 5

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