FIFA 19 Arsenal player ratings: an in-depth review

Much like our reliance on Punxsutawney Phil to tell us just how much more winter we have left each year, so too do millions of soccer video game fans await the release of their team’s player ratings for the latest installment of the FIFA franchise. It’s never a matter of if their favorite team is disrespected with lower-than-expected player ratings, but by how much. Unless you are a fan of the top-heavy ultra-elite clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona, chances are you are going to feel that your favorite club has been slighted. After all, what is irrational fandom without the need for arbitrary validation from a video game company?

Suffice it to say, the player ratings for FIFA 19, which drops on September 28th, were leaked today by FIFA fansite Futwiz.com, which means that Arsenal’s individual player ratings are now open for public scrutiny. As an avid player of FIFA (leave the PES v FIFA v FM debate for a different forum, please and thanks), I for one was excited to see just how poorly Arsenal’s ratings dipped, and sadly I was not disappointed.

Now, let the handwringing begin!

THE TAKE-AWAYS

• Arsenal’s poor 2017-2018 season has had a clear affect on the overall player ratings across the roster. Nearly every first-team member either dropped in rating or remained the same, with the only exceptions being Mohamed Elneny (77 to 78) and Rob Holding (72 to 74).
• Coming in as Arsenal’s top-rated player for 2018-2019 is striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with an overall 87 rating, which is one point lower than his rating in last season’s version. Losing two points off of his pace rating (96 to 94), Auba lost his spot as the fastest player in the FIFA game. He did, however, gain a fourth star in skill moves and 8 (!) total points in physicality (71 to 79).
• Mesut Ozil, everyone’s favorite scapegoat/whipping boy dropped to an overall rating of 86 from a rating of 88 last season after a forgettable first half of 2018.
• Newly-acquired goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s overall rating of 84 is two whole points higher than veteran net-minder Petr Cech, who comes in at 82, whose four point drop from his FIFA 18 rating of 86 is the single-largest drop on the team.
• The remainder of Arsenal’s summer signings are rated as follows: Sokratis - 84, Stephan Lichtsteiner - 80, Lucas Torreira - 78, Matteo Guendouzi - 67.
• Despite a promising debut season that led to a new contract, Reiss Nelson is only rated 65, on par with [checks the table]...Gedion Zelalem? That, to me, seems well off.

As with all FIFA ratings, these are subject to change as the season goes on, but as it stands, Arsenal’s ratings are about what we thought they would be: underwhelming outside of a select few stars. The complete list of ratings are in the table below.

So what say you? Are the FIFA ratings fair? Any player who you believe deserved a better (or worse) rating? Let’s hear it in the comments.