{"id":5111,"date":"2025-03-16T21:52:13","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T21:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2025\/03\/16\/mikel-merino-gets-8-arsenal-players-rated-in-their-1-0-win-against-chelsea\/"},"modified":"2025-03-16T21:52:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T21:52:13","slug":"mikel-merino-gets-8-arsenal-players-rated-in-their-1-0-win-against-chelsea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2025\/03\/16\/mikel-merino-gets-8-arsenal-players-rated-in-their-1-0-win-against-chelsea\/","title":{"rendered":"Mikel Merino Gets 8 | Arsenal Players Rated In Their 1-0 Win Against Chelsea"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Arsenal emerged triumphant in a tense London derby, edging out Chelsea<\/a> 1-0 at the Emirates to solidify their grip on second place in the Premier League<\/a>. With Nottingham Forest breathing down their necks after narrowing the gap to just one point, Mikel Arteta\u2019s men responded with a hard-fought victory. Mikel Merino\u2019s decisive strike stole the show, proving doubters wrong and painting North London red. Here\u2019s how Arsenal\u2019s stars rated in this pulsating clash on Super Sunday.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

David Raya: 5\/10<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Spanish goalkeeper had a heart-in-mouth moment when Marc Cucurella\u2019s volley nearly caught him out in the first half. Fortunately for Raya, Chelsea\u2019s attack lacked sharpness, leaving him largely untested beyond that scare. A steady, if unspectacular, day between the sticks.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Myles Lewis-Skelly: 7\/10<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

The young left-back earned a warm ovation as he stepped onto the pitch, fresh off his England call-up. Lewis-Skelly didn\u2019t disappoint, holding his own against Chelsea\u2019s tricky wingers with tenacity and threading clever passes. A mature showing from the teenager.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

William Saliba: 8\/10<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Saliba was a brick wall at the back, snuffing out Chelsea\u2019s forwards with ease. His composure, positioning, and leadership shone through, making this a near-flawless display from the Frenchman.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Gabriel Magalhaes: 6\/10<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Partnering Saliba, Gabriel delivered a no-nonsense performance. He didn\u2019t dazzle, but he didn\u2019t need to\u2014his reliability kept Chelsea\u2019s hopes dim.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jurrien Timber: 8\/10<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Dutch dynamo was a revelation on the right. Bursting with energy, Timber excelled defensively and marauded forward with intent, reminding everyone of his immense value to this squad.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thomas Partey: 2\/10<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

A rare off-day for Partey. Caught out of position too often and sluggish in midfield battles, he struggled to impose himself against a lively Chelsea side.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Declan Rice: 4\/10<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Rice\u2019s afternoon was overshadowed by a nasty stamp from Wesley Fofana rather than any standout play. The midfielder looked off the pace and couldn\u2019t dictate the tempo as he usually does.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Martin Odegaard: 5\/10<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

The captain buzzed around in attack but left fans wanting more. While he linked play well, his final decisions often fizzled out, frustrating those in the stands.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Gabriel Martinelli: 7\/10<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Martinelli brought spark and relentless running to the wing. He carved out promising moments but lacked precision with his end product\u2014a familiar critique.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Leandro Trossard: 3\/10<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

A day to forget for Trossard. Despite golden opportunities in the first half, he couldn\u2019t find the target, leaving his mark on the game frustratingly faint.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mikel Merino: 8\/10<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
\"Mikel
LONDON, ENGLAND \u2013 FEBRUARY 22: Mikel Merino of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and West Ham United FC at Emirates Stadium on February 22, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The hero of the hour. Merino, not a natural forward, adapted brilliantly, bagging the winner and battling fiercely in midfield. A statement performance from the summer signing.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Substitutes<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ethan Nwaneri: 5\/10<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Introduced late, the youngster showed neat touches but couldn\u2019t turn the tide in his brief cameo.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kieran Tierney: N\/A<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Too little time to judge.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arsenal emerged triumphant in a tense London derby, edging out Chelsea 1-0 at the Emirates to solidify their grip on second place in the Premier League. With Nottingham Forest breathing down their necks after narrowing the gap to just one point, Mikel Arteta\u2019s men responded with a hard-fought victory. Mikel Merino\u2019s decisive strike stole the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13963,"featured_media":5112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13963"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}