Stephan Lichtsteiner to blame for Arsenal's poor defending against Manchester City, says Alex Scott

Aguero opened the scoring 48 seconds into the match before piling further misery on the Arsenal defence

Monday 04 February 2019 12:47 GMT

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Unai Emery insists inexperienced Arsenal will improve

Stephan Lichtsteiner was “all over the place” against Manchester City, according to former Arsenal defender and pundit Alex Scott.

The Switzerland international suffered another difficult afternoon with Alex Iwobi on the right-hand side in the Gunners’ 3-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium, a result which saw them drop to sixth in the Premier League table.

Lichtsteiner, 35, was at fault for City’s second goal, losing the run of Raheem Sterling inside the box, while Nigeria international Iwobi lost the ball in his own penalty area for Sergio Aguero’s 48-second opener.

“Lichtsteiner is all over the place, he doesn’t know whether to close the player down,” Scott said on Sky Sports.

“Him and Iwobi are getting popped around the side,” she added.

Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

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1/23Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Manchester City vs Arsenal

Who impressed as Pep Guardiola's side beat Unai Emery's at the Etihad Stadium?

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Ederson - 8 out of 10

Came off his line superbly to beat Aubameyang to the ball. Little he could do to prevent Koscielny’s equaliser.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Kyle Walker - 6 out of 10

An improvement on some recent performances. Comfortable when in a back three after playing the same role with England.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Nicolas Otamendi - 6 out of 10

A forceful presence at the back, sometimes too forceful. One robust first-half challenge on Lacazette went unnoticed.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Aymeric Laporte - 7 out of 10

Picks up a rare assist, crossing for Aguero’s first, then saw a goal disallowed for offside. Covered well for Sterling, who was alone on the left flank.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Fernandinho - 7 out of 10

Initially struggled to exert his usual control over the midfield in the first half, perhaps because he had to keep dropping back into defence, but improved.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Bernardo Silva - 7 out of 10

Out of position on the wing and less influential than he often is in a central role but still troubled Arsenal’s left side.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Ilkay Gundogan - 8 out of 10

Almost faultless when distributing the ball. A delicate chip over the top of the defence in the build-up to Aguero’s goal was his best.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

David Silva - 7 out of 10

Not masterful from Il Mago but an all-round improvement on his display at St James’ Park, sprinkled with the odd special touch or pass.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Kevin De Bruyne - 6 out of 10

Did not have his usual influence on the game. An off-day though hardly anything to be concerned about.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Raheem Sterling - 8 out of 10

Created two of Aguero’s three, ghosting superbly behind Lichtsteiner for the second. Asked to cover the entire left flank but did not look out of place.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Sergio Aguero - 9 out of 10

Header, right foot, left arm. An unconventional hat-trick but his 14th in City colours. The wrong side of 30 now but his predatory instincts have not waned.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Bernd Leno - 6 out of 10

Dives too early and the wrong way for Aguero’s first but denied City impressively on several occasions after it.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Stephan Lichtsteiner - 5 out of 10

Caught out by Sterling’s intelligent movement, particularly on City’s second. Arsenal’s third-choice at right back and it showed.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Shkodran Mustafi - 6 out of 10

Equalises from Torreira corner, Monreal flick-on, but culpable for letting Aguero go at the far post for City’s crucial second.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Laurent Koscielny - 5 out of 10

Five yards behind the rest of the Arsenal defence for Aguero’s first, playing every City player onside, though perhaps did not anticipate Iwobi’s error.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Nacho Monreal - 7 out of 10

Neat near-post flick-on for Koscielny’s equaliser. Coped well enough with Bernardo despite being given little support.

Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Alex Iwobi - 5 out of 10

Dispossessed deep in his own half by Laporte. Attempted to make up for his mistake and was tidy enough, though did little to atone.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Lucas Torreira - 8 out of 10

Made several key interceptions and tackles, especially as momentum shifted towards Arsenal in the first half.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Matteo Guendouzi - 7 out of 10

Poor start but did not hide and grew into the game as it went on. Largely shut down City’s midfield with Torreira until the game got away from Arsenal.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Sead Kolasinac - 6 out of 10

Stationed at left midfield but perhaps too adventurous for his full-back’s liking, with Monreal left one-on-one with Bernardo too often.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Alexandre Lacazette - 6 out of 10

Him and Aubameyang were sat strangely deep, bulking up Arsenal’s midfield, and this affected his ability to get forward.

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Manchester City vs Arsenal player ratings

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 6 out of 10

As with Lacazette, often too deep to threaten, though a little brighter than his partner and Arsenal’s main threat on the counter-attack.

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The Swiss right-back joined Arsenal on a free transfer last summer after his contract with Serie A champions Juventus expired.

The transfer was initially met with much enthusiasm, but Lichtsteiner has struggled to adapt to the intensity of the Premier League, with calls for outcast Carl Jenkinson to replace him in the starting line-up.

Unai Emery’s options at right-back are limited due to the anterior cruciate ligament injury regular starter Hector Bellerin suffered last month against Chelsea, which is expected to keep the Spaniard out for between six and nine months.

Stephan Lichtsteiner had a difficult match against Manchester City (Getty)

Creative midfielder Mesut Ozil was an unused substitute in Manchester for a game in which Arsenal had just four shots, but Graeme Souness supported Emery’s stance on the German.

“He has not been afraid to drop the German, who goes through the motions at times,” Souness said.

“He has sent out a message of ‘it’s my way or no way’.

“If you tolerate that from a star player, then it’s an excuse for the rest to go down the same road, and that will get you nowhere.

“Emery has confronted that but when you take on big players you have to be winning games.

“By making Ozil captain for Tuesday’s win over Cardiff City, the Arsenal manager used the carrot after the stick, saying: ‘There’s still a place for you, show me you have a future here’,” he added.

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