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Arsenal squandered a 3-0 lead with half an hour to play as Anderlecht produced a stunning comeback to draw 3-3 in the Champions League.
Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta scored from the penalty spot in the 25th minute and Alexis Sanchez volleyed home a superb second just four minutes later. Sanchez then created Arsenal's third for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 58th minute as the home side looked to have taken complete control of the Group D clash and sealed a place in the last 16 with two matches to play. However, two goals from Anthony Vanden Borre, the second from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute, hauled Anderlecht right back into the match and Aleksandar Mitrovic headed a dramatic equalizer in the 90th minute.
So who was to blame for the capitulation? We take a look at how the Arsenal players performed...
Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 3 player ratingsShow all 11 1 /11Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 3 player ratings Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 3 player ratings Woijech Szczesny On his return from Champions League suspension Szczesny had to be alert early on to keep the visitors out but to be fair to him there wasn’t a great deal he could do about any of their three late goals. 6
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Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 3 player ratings Calum Chambers A quiet game for Chambers this evening – didn’t make any huge personal errors during the Anderlecht comeback but didn’t stamp his authority on the game either. 6
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Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 3 player ratings Per Mertesacker Faced with the unenviable task of playing alongside Monreal, Mertesacker unsurprisingly looks rather unstable at the moment - will be disappointed he was beaten in the air for the equalising goal. 5
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Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 3 player ratings Nacho Monreal In fairness to the Spaniard, he’s playing out of position - but that doesn’t change the fact he looks absolutely horrendous – surely there has to be someone else who can do a better job than him - isn’t Steve Bould still around? 3
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Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 3 player ratings Kieran Gibbs Once Laurent Koscielny returns, Monreal should not get a place back in the Arsenal side because this young Englishman is in fine form. Solid defensively and a real asset going forward – he should be ahead of Luke Shaw in the England pecking order. 7
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Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 3 player ratings Mikel Arteta Took his penalty calmly and passed the ball well but doesn’t offer his defence the sort of protection required from his position at the top level. 6
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Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 3 player ratings Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain With his injury woes appearing to be behind him, the 21-year-old is putting together a fine run of form – his goal and general play tonight showed why he must start on a regular basis. 8
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Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 3 player ratings Aaron Ramsey Not quite back to his best following injury but had some nice moments as Arsenal dominated the middle part of the game. 6
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Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 3 player ratings Santi Cazorla Can’t help but feel he’s at the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to Arsenal’s riches in attacking midfield – not bad but not as impressive as his rivals for his place in the side. 6
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Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 3 player ratings Alexis Sanchez Looks a better signing with every passing game – wonderful technical ability combined with terrier-like enthusiasm makes the Chilean near unplayable at times – he scored a stunning volley to give Arsenal a 2-0 lead. 8
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Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 3 player ratings Danny Welbeck The goals have dried up a little for Welbeck but he is doing a fine job for the team and showed his worth as he won a penalty this evening. 7
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Who was your man of the match? Let us know in the comments below.
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