
Gylfi Sigurdsson whipped a fantastic ball from the corner that was converted by Mina.
Midfield:
Abdoulaye Doucoure – 7
Made a juicy, powerful run early in the match, evading the Arsenal pressure. Doucoure was practically everywhere, making runs on the flank, blocking Arsenal players putting his dynamism to maximum display. It is almost unreal how Doucoure continues to inject so much energy in his game even in the culminating stages of the game. A reservoir of energy, power and solidity, Doucoure was a joy to watch.
Tom Davies – 6
Early in the match, Davies played the Allan role, sitting deeper than Doucoure while the Frenchman had a bit more freedom. Gave away a cheap penalty which opened the door to Arsenal’s equalizer as Nicolas Pepe converted from the spot. The penalty incident may have gotten into his head as his performance dropped in the second half as the Gunners started to push forward more and more.
Gylfi Sigurdsson – 7
Under Ancelotti, Gylfi Sigurdsson has played on the left side of the midfield, deeper in the midfield but No.10 is his area, this is where he likes to be. Clearly, the conductor of play in James Rodriguez’s absence, the Iceman was soothing to watch in the past couple of games. He did not look completely free flowing in the first half. The 31 year old was finding it difficult to find freedom in the middle of the park due to Arsenal’s congestion in the midfield and defence.
While his free-kick attempt was inaccurate, his corner delivery on the stroke of the half time that lead to Yerry Mina’s goal was pinpoint perfect. Sigurdsson is ageing like fine wine and is doing everything that is expected from him. He did slow down in the second half and it was evident that he was running out of juice late in the game. The Iceman’s contributions were invaluable today.