Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says he was disappointed by the Gunners’ second-half display against Slavia Prague on Wednesday night.

The Premier League champions seemed to be easing to victory after Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres put them 2-0 up after 38 minutes.

However, Arteta’s men were put under the cosh after the break, with Wiktor Nowak pulling one back, but they managed to see out the game and seal all three points.

Press the next page as we give our Arsenal player ratings for the 2-1 win at the Fortuna Arena…

Goalkeeper and Defence

GK – David Raya – 6/10 –  made two saves from Oskar Kubiak, the second of which was outstanding, but he had to be saved by Gabriel after flapping at a corner.

RB – Ben White – 7/10 – probably should have had an assist for Mikel Merino, but the Spaniard didn’t convert his chance. The fullback had a strong first half before fading after the interval.

CB – Ezri Konsa – 4/10 – not the 29-year-old’s best game. He gave away a free kick just outside the box, and was then booked for another late challenge, which led to his substitution.

CB – Gabriel – 6/10 – made a great goal-line clearance, but he lost Nowak for Slavia Prague’s goal as he tried to cut out the cross at the near post. An uncharacteristic mistake from the Brazilian.

LB – Piero Hincapie – 6/10 – the Ecuadorian had a decent game defensively, but he doesn’t offer what Riccardo Calafiori can in possession.

Midfield

CM – Declan Rice – 6/10 – the midfielder faded badly in the second half. He was clearly exhausted, but Arteta opted against taking him off, which was a strange decision.

CM – Martin Zubimendi – 8/10 – a very positive display from the Spaniard, who needed to show Arteta why he should be picked ahead of Bruno Guimaraes and Myles Lewis-Skelly.

AM – Mikel Merino – 6/10 – the 30-year-old missed a couple of good chances to score, but he did turn provider for Gyokeres’s goal.

You’d have thought that Arteta would prefer Eberechi Eze as the no.10 in Martin Odegaard’s absence, but Merino has played there on more than one occasion this season already.

Forwards

RW – Noni Madueke – 8/10 – finally some end product from the winger! He took his goal expertly, and he could have had one or two assists on another day too.

ST – Viktor Gyokeres – 8/10 – hooked a hopeful ball in behind, which Madueke latched onto and finished, before scoring the second himself.

Gyokeres does tend to perform better in the Champions League, and Arteta will be keen to see more of the same if he starts against Hull City this weekend.

LW – Eberechi Eze – 7/10 – the 28-year-old had a very strong first half, testing Tomas Vlcek time and time again. However, he didn’t kick on after the break, much like the rest of his teammates. More consistency is vital if he wants to play on a more regular basis.

Substitutes

Cristhian Mosquera- 6/10 – replaced the booked Konsa just after the hour mark, and he was pretty solid.

Christos Tzolis – 5/10 – the Greek international had one shot blocked, but other than that, he didn’t really make much of an impact.

Jurrien Timber – 4/10 – not the best 15 minutes from the Dutchman, who could have done better at the near post for Slavia Prague’s goal.

Martin Odegaard – 5/10 – got on the ball when he could, but it was pretty much one-way traffic.

Max Dowman – N/A – came on in stoppage time as Arsenal tried to run down the clock.