Grading Arsenal’s European Championship performances
Grading Arsenal’s UEFA Euro 2020 performances - including Bukayo Saka and Granit Xhaka
By Oli Dickson Jefford
After
four thrilling weeks of action, Euro 2020 concluded on Sunday at Wembley.
There
were just four Arsenal players in action across the 24 nations, across a
variety of different positions and experience levels.
Here,
we take a look at how Bukayo Saka, Granit Xhaka, Kieran Tierney and Bernd Leno
have fared over the past few weeks.
Bukayo Saka: 8/10
After
a disappointing draw against Scotland, pressure was on Gareth Southgate to
shake things up in England’s final group match against the Czech
Republic.
And
when he brought in Bukayo Saka into the starting XI, the 19-year-old well and
truly delivered with a man of the match performance in a 1-0 victory at
Wembley.
Saka
consistently caused havoc for opposition defenders when playing, particularly
against the Czech Republic but also against Germany in England’s 2-0 round of
16 victory.
He
may have not started in the final against Italy, but Saka has certainly given Gareth
Southgate something extra to think about in the future.
The 19 year-old was brought on in the 70th minute and later took England's fifth penalty in the decisive shootout, following the 1-1 draw, only to see his spot-kick saved by Italian keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Despite the late heartbreak, he can still leave the tournament with his head held high, after shining for his national team throughout.
Granit Xhaka: 7/10
Though
he’s had a bumpy - and occasionally controversial - time in an Arsenal shirt,
Granit Xhaka often looks like a completely different player when captaining
Switzerland.
The
28-year-old was one of Switzerland’s most consistent players in the group
stage, holding the team together as they managed to edge out of the group as
one of the best third-placed teams with four points.
However
it was in the round of 16 where he truly excelled, putting in a masterful
performance as Switzerland came from 3-1 down to draw against France and
ultimately knock out the tournament favourites on penalties in one of the
biggest shocks in Euros history.
Xhaka
did however pick up a second yellow card of the tournament against France,
meaning he missed the quarter-final against Spain which his side ultimately
lost on penalties.
Kieran Tierney: 5/10
One
of Scotland’s key players, Kieran Tierney was always going to be key in terms
of Scotland’s chances of progressing out of a tough group.
Still
struggling for fitness, he was sorely missed as he didn’t play in a 2-0 loss
against the Czech Republic.
However,
he was brought back into the first XI after that proved to be one of Scotland’s
best players as they defensively frustrated England and held them to a 0-0 draw
at Wembley.
Tierney
by no means played poorly against Croatia either, though the 2018 World Cup
finalists proved to have too much quality in a 3-1 victory that meant Scotland
went out in the group stage.
Bernd Leno: N/A
It’s
pretty difficult to give someone a rating when they did not spend a single
second on the pitch during the Euros.
And
unfortunately that’s the case for Bernd Leno, who finds himself behind Bayern
Munich’s Manuel Neur in the pecking order for Germany’s goalkeepers.
It
was by no means a glittering tournament for Germany, who managed to beat
Portugal 4-2 but lost to France and only scraped a 2-2 draw at home versus
Hungary.
Their second-placed finish
in the group set up a mouth-watering round of 16 tie against England, which they
ultimately lost 2-0.
