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Arsenal
David Ospina – 6/10 – Ospina was solid for the most part, and couldn’t do much more to deny Bate for their first goal. Could have arguably caught the header which led to Bate’s second goal, but overall it wasn’t a poor performance from the Colombian.
Reiss Nelson – 6/10 – Nelson is not a particularly defensively minded player, and was helped by the fact Arsenal dominated most of the game. The young prospect looked good going forward at times, but it arguably wasn’t the performance that was expected.
Rob Holding – 7/10 – On the back foot with balls over the top, Holding did well to head away from goal on many occasions. He also did well to react and tap the ball in to make it 3-0 to the Gunners, whilst hitting the post at 3-1 too.
Per Mertesacker – 7/10 – Mertesacker did well defensively and the goals conceded were more down to Arsenal’s midfield that had a lack of defensive contribution and the wing backs who are mainly known for attacking.
Shkodran Mustafi – 7/10 – Similarly to Mertesacker, he must take no blame for the goals conceded. It was a rather solid performance from the German, his first in a while.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 7/10 – Maitland-Niles did extremely well defensively and going forward, with him getting into many dangerous crossing performances and nullifying Rios’ attacking threat.
Joe Willock – 7/10 – Willock, in his first start for Arsenal, put in a very good performance and played a crucial part in Arsenal’s three first-half goals. He became less effective in the second half and struggled slightly more defensively, but it was a good first 90 minutes in an Arsenal shirt for the youngster.
Mohamed Elneny – 7/10 – Elneny, quite typical of the Egyptian, controlled and dictated the play. It was a solid performance, despite him slightly fading away late in the game.
Theo Walcott – 9/10 – Walcott hit the post from a tight angle very early on, before scoring just a few minutes later to make it 1-0. He then made it 2-0 soon after, when he was gifted the ball by the keeper on the edge of the box and finished low into the corner. He remained a constant threat throughout the game and put in a very good performance.
Jack Wilshere – 8.5/10 – Wilshere’s intelligent play started very early, as a through ball to Walcott was only denied an assist as Walcott’s finish clipped the outside of the post. However, he then created the first goal of the game as his delightful chip across the box was then converted by Walcott. He was unlucky not to have three assists before half-time and he ran the show for most of the 90 minutes.
Olivier Giroud – 6/10 – Giroud did well to convert his penalty, slotting it the wrong side of the keeper, but in a game which Arsenal dominated, Giroud had little impact or effect in their attacking play.
Substitutes
Marcus McGuane – N/A – Late in the game, the youngster, who has been at Arsenal since the age of six, got his first professional game for the Gunners. It was too late for him to do anything effective, but he will be pleased to have got his first game.
Eddie Nketiah – N/A – Similarly to McGuane, Nketiah got his first professional game for the Gunners and will have been extremely pleased to have got any time on the pitch. However, he played just five minutes.
