Arsenal player ratings: Aubameyang thrills, Lichtsteiner’s gift of the gaffe while Ozil gets hooked again

ARSENAL slumped to a poor away draw as Unai Emery's men dropped more points over Christmas.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang impressed again as he threatened the Brighton back-four all night, but errors led to Jurgen Locadia's second-half equaliser.

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Here, SunSport rates and slates Unai Emery's men as they failed to overtake fourth-place Chelsea on the south coast:

Bernd Leno

Had very little to do until the 35th minute when he stormed off his line to allow Brighton back in the game.

The moment called for a cool head, and the German didn't have one.

Stephan Lichtsteiner

His mistimed header led to Jurgen Locadia's equaliser and a clumsy challenge on the Dutchman could have cost Emery's men dearly.

Experience didn't help him this time.

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Sokratis Papastathopoulos

Doesn't exude the confidence required at the heart of a back-three and proves to be sloppy in possession too frequently.

Not a long-term solution to Gunners' defensive problems.

Laurent Koscielny

Remains far from match fit following eight months out with injury, but the Frenchman adds class to the Gunners' back line.

Couldn't complete the 90 minutes but will be an asset to Emery.

Sead Kolasinac

Slumped up and down the left, struggling to keep up with the springy Solly March. Wing-back position requires the pace that Kolasinac's just doesn't possess.

Maitland-Niles came on to show him how it's done.

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Granit Xhaka

Mixed night for the Swiss who has excelled under Emery.

Didn't provide enough defensive cover but is much-improved and more reliable than last season under Arsene Wenger

Lucas Torreira

Another industrious performance from the signing of the summer at Arsenal.

His pressing led to the Gunners' opening goal and proved to be the only real support for the defence.

Matteo Guendouzi

Continuing to show experience well beyond his 19 years, Guendouzi's delightful passing range almost gave Arsenal an early lead when he played in Aubameyang.

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Mesut Ozil

Graceful in attack but still lacks the defensive work-rate Emery demands.

Failed to track his man which led to Glenn Murray's disallowed goal in a performance that summed up Ozil's issues under Emery. Hooked at halt-time.

Alexandre Lacazette

Frenchman's skill and trickery troubled the Seagulls' defence all evening and led to Arsenal's opener.

Building a lethal partnership with Aubameyang but was unhappy when replaced after an hour.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Confidence oozed from the Prem's top scorer as his pace and precision downed Brighton.

But the Gabonese hitman could - and probably should - have easily had a hat-trick as he regularly raced in behind.

5

Substitutes:

Alex Iwobi (for Ozil 45')

Showed the work-rate Ozil didn't which was necessary as Arsenal spent much of the second-half defending.

Aaron Ramsey (for Lacazette 61')

Brought a much-needed new dimension to Emery's side in what could be one of his final games for the club.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles (for Koscielny 69')

Brought pace and energy as a full-back that Kolasinac lacked but just lacked the end product.