Russia 2018: Which Gunner gave the best performance?

Russia 2018: Which Gunner gave the best performance?

It may feel like this summer may never end thanks to the incessant sunshine, but as we approach the last week in August, only one thing is on everyone’s minds; the return of top flight English football. Luckily, the wait for decent football hasn’t taken too long thanks to an incredible World Cup that finished barely a month ago, with an unexpected and exciting run for England.

For Arsenal fans however, Gunner involvement in England’s stunning run to the semi-finals rested solely on striker Danny Welbeck, who managed 20 minutes in the entire tournament in the 1-0 dead rubber defeat to Belgium. Welbeck’s performance certainly won’t be filling Arsenal fans full of confidence for the season ahead and naturally ended up being the subject of mockery, but there were other more ‘impactful’ performances from Arsenal players during the summer.


Before we begin to analyse the Arsenal players didn’t miss sitters, it’s worth noting that a few key players didn’t even make it to the tournament. A fairly cold season and plenty of world-class competition saw French striker Alexandre Lacazette left out by Didier Deschamps, and divisive defender Shkodran Mustafi suffered the same fate when his regular spot in the Germany squad ceased to exist after some frightful performances last year. Other key Arsenal players including Ramsay, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang and Petr Cech were of course left on the sofa thanks to the failure of their respective national teams to qualify.

Out of the 9 Arsenal players who made it to Russia, it’s safe to say that only Nacho Monreal and Mesut Ozil would have registered as potential World Cup winners before the tournament started, but as we know it really didn’t go right for either of them. Spain were on the back foot from the eve of the tournament, when national team manager Julen Lopetegui was sacked literally the day before the tournament began. Despite trying to look past the fact that they were rudderless, Spain scraped through the groups before being put to the sword by hosts Russia on penalties. Monreal’s involvement however reached a grand total of zero minutes on the pitch, and he could only watch as the worst-rated team at the tournament sent Spain home.

Mesut Özil’s performance at the World Cup for Germany could have been so much different too. After already making the headlines for appearing in a photo with controversial Turkey President Recep Tayipp Erdogan alongside fellow German international Ilkay Gündoğan and German-born Cenk Tosun, Özil was soon cutting a lonely figure after being blamed almost single-handedly for Germany crashing out in the group stages and receiving public criticism from the German FA. The defending champions were beaten soundly by Mexico in their opener, before snatching a late win against Sweden and then suffering a truly embarrassing defeat against group losers South Korea.

Özil looked truly awful for Germany, with a grand total of 2 shots on target and 7 deliveries into the penalty area from attacking midfield, alongside 16 cases of dispossession with the ball. It’s no wonder that he was dropped for the Sweden game, and the situation is so bad that he is now considering his options as an international player. 2018 / 19 needs to be a big season for Özil, who now has a lot to prove at club level following a pretty average season last year and of course the horror show that was the 2018 World Cup.

Arsenal’s involvement elsewhere at the tournament was fairly limited. David Ospina arguably put in the best performance, helping Colombia to reach a last 16 spot with 10 saves and an overall save percentage of 76.9% before defeat to England. Switzerland internationals Granit Xhaka and new signing Stephan Lichtsteiner also managed a last 16 spot, with Xhaka even managing a goal against Serbia in the group stages. This will hopefully bode well for the new season, with Xhaka certainly in the spotlight following a couple of seasons marred by poor performances and poor disciplines.

Youngster Alex Iwobi managed 3 substitute appearances for Nigeria and showed that he has plenty to give. With a bit of nurturing, and now confidence thanks to a new deal to keep him at the Emirates, Iwobi could become a regular for both Arsenal and Nigeria, and is certainly one of the more promising Premier League youngsters out there.

For Egypt, the spotlight was naturally on Mo Salah, but Mohamed Elneny was another of the Premier League names who became a focus for pundits. Appearing in all 3 of Egypt’s group stage games, Elneny played fairly well, but was let down by a lack of overall quality in the team. His strong pass rate of 96% and 3 attempts on goal however make up for a pretty quiet tournament from the midfielder.

The only other Arsenal inclusion at the tournament was Joel Campbell. The forward really struggled to get going in the game-and-a-bit he played in, but the rest of the Costa Rica team didn’t exactly do him any favours, with a draw against Switzerland their tournament highlight.

Overall, Arsenal’s involvement at World Cup 2018 was pretty limited. The stars that should have been shining ended up with their heads in the hands, but players like Iwobi, Elneny and Xhaka used the platform to show new boss Unai Emery that they’re worthy of a first team spot. Whether they can carry their World Cup momentum through to the new Premier League season remains to be seen, but it’s probably a good thing that no-one is going to be carrying tired legs into the new season.

The real focus however will be on the Özil, with the fans already unhappy at his lackadaisical style. He is the single Arsenal player who may actually end up suffering from a World Cup hangover, and will really need to find some motivation from the opening day if he wants to be a part of Emery’s setup.