Arsenal player ratings: Declan Rice shines despite new position, summer signing still a big concern

Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League table with a 2-1 win at home to Brighton on Saturday afternoon.

The Gunners weren’t quite at their best, but did what they needed to do to move above Manchester City again after their victory over Nottingham Forest earlier in the day.

There were some positives and some negatives for Arsenal against Brighton, so read on for our take on how each player performed…

David Raya – 8 – Raya was one of the heroes for Arsenal against Brighton with a match-winning save against Yankuba Minteh in the second half. Truly world class from the Spanish shot-stopper, who stepped up when his team needed him.

Declan Rice – 8.5 – Out of position at right-back, Rice was still his usual superb self with a tireless display for the Gunners. The England international looked well suited to the role as he contributed defensively and in attack, while his usual deadly set piece delivery forced the own goal in the second half.

William Saliba – 6 – Not the hardest game William Saliba will ever play as he and the rest of the defence didn’t have a huge amount to do for most of the game, but cool and composed on the ball as usual.

Piero Hincapie – 6.5 – Hincapie continues to settle in and improve, whilst he also showed his versatility by moving to left-back later in the game when Gabriel Magalhaes came on.

Myles Lewis-Skelly  – 5.5 – Not quite at his best, Lewis-Skelly perhaps played like someone who wasn’t expecting to start the game, with the youngster only brought into Mikel Arteta’s XI late on as Riccardo Calafiori got injured in the pre-match warm-up.

Martin Zubimendi – 6 – A decent performance from Zubimendi, but also one that perhaps shows that the Spain international is starting to get a little tired from playing so much football this season. Time for Arteta to trust Christian Norgaard a bit more?

Mikel Merino – 5.5 – Not his influential best back in midfield, Merino continues to prove himself to be something of an enigma, often looking better suited to playing up front in this Arsenal side, even if it wasn’t the position he was originally brought in to play.

Martin Odegaard – 8 – This was more like the Martin Odegaard of old, with the Norway international scoring a well-taken opening goal and linking up with his teammates with some slick and incisive passing.

Bukayo Saka – 8 – A real threat throughout the game, Saka got the assist for the Odegaard goal and was unlucky not to pick up one or two more as he created so many chances for his misfiring teammates.

Leandro Trossard – 7 – A lively performance from Leandro Trossard, albeit one without much in the way of end-product in the end.

Viktor Gyokeres – 4 – Probably the most worrying thing to come from this game for Arsenal was the quiet display of Viktor Gyokeres once again. The Swedish striker made a mess of one good chance and apart from that just couldn’t get into the game, struggling to get on the ball or to complete some basic passes.

Substitutes: Gabriel 6, Gabriel Jesus 6, Gabriel Martinelli 6

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