The countdown has begun for the release of FIFA 18.

September 29 is the date that gamers will get their hands on the latest edition and it's sure to be the best one yet.

As they do every year, EA Sports claim they have once again revolutionised the gameplay on FIFA 18, making it the most realistic football game on the market.

Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer might have something to say about that, though, having closed the gap in recent years.

And so, with 16 days until FIFA 18 comes out, some player ratings are starting to emerge.

Manchester United and Liverpool's player ratings have been leaked on Twitter in recent days, with the latter's fans left severely underwhelmed.

Roberto Firmino, for example, has been given disappointing rating of 83, while Sadio Mane's shooting is just 78.

The same can't be said for United, though, with eight of their players rated 84 and above.

David de Gea is the highest-rated player at Old Trafford with 90, followed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic (88), Paul Pogba (87) and Romelu Lukaku (86).

So, what about Arsenal? The Gunners finished fifth in the Premier League last season, missing out on Champions League football for the first time since 1994/95.

A few downgrades were to be expected, then, but Arsenal fans probably weren't expecting most of their team to suffer.

Arsenal's player ratings have now been leaked thanks to fan account @UberAFC and they serve as evidence of their decline over the past year (see below)

ARSENAL ON FIFA 18

Only three Arsenal players have received upgrades on FIFA 18 - Shkodran Mustafi, Hector Bellerin and Alexis Sanchez - while the majority of the rest have seen their ratings drop.

Let's take a look at each players' rating on FIFA 17 compared to this year.

FIFA 17 VS FIFA 18

GOALKEEPERS: PETR CECH (88-86), DAVID OSPINA (79-79)

DEFENDERS: HECTOR BELLERIN (80-81), MATHIEU DEBUCHY (80-78), LAURENT KOSCIELNY (85-84), SHKODRAN MUSTAFI (83-84), PER MERTESACKER (83-81), NACHO MONREAL (81-80), SEAD KOLASINAC (80-80)

MIDFIELDERS: GRANIT XHAKA (84-82), AARON RAMSEY (84-82), FRANCIS COQUELIN (81-79), MOHAMED ELNENY (77-77), MESUT OZIL (89-88)

FORWARDS: ALEXIS SANCHEZ (88-89), ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE (85-85), OLIVIER GIROUD (83-82), DANNY WELBECK (80-80), THEO WALCOTT (81-80), ALEX IWOBI (74-74)

It's no surprise that Sanchez has been upgraded to 89 following another excellent individual season at Arsenal, but Mustafi and Bellerin? Really?

The defensive pair were average at best last term and arguably deserved to stay at 80 and 83 respectively.