Arsenal 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur: Player Ratings

Arsenal rolled back the years to put Tottenham in their place with a comfortable 2-0 victory at the Emirates. Shkodran Mustafi gave Arsenal a vital lead with a powerful header in the 36th minute. Alexis Sanchez doubled their lead five minutes later following which the Gunners cruised to the finish line, well and truly proving that North London is still red.

Take a look at how the players fared in the fascinating encounter at the Emirates:

Arsenal

Petr Cech - 8/10

Cech put in a stellar display in between the posts for the Gunners. He made a great save diving to his right in the first half off a well-struck Christian Eriksen drive, keeping Arsenal in the lead. He produced another blinder in the second period, keeping out a powerful Eric Dier header which would have got Spurs back in the game.

Hector Bellerin - 7.5/10

Bellerin caused the Spurs defence plenty of problems with his runs down the flank. He was unlucky not to have an assist after his low cross could not be turned in by Lacazette early in the first half. Bellerin's defensive abilities have been questioned quite often this season but he looked relatively untroubled on the night. His forays forward also ensured Spurs' fullbacks didn't venture too deep into Arsenal territory thereby making life easier for the Arsenal backline.

Shkodran Mustafi - 9/10

Mustafi was not even certain to start this game, however, after passing a late fitness test, took his place in the middle of defence alongside Koscielny. The German had an answer to everything Kane and co. threw at him at the back. More importantly, though, he broke the deadlock in the first half with a great header off a Mesut Ozil freekick, giving Lloris in the Spurs goal no chance. He made a whopping 14 clearances in total, helping the Gunners maintain a clean sheet. Man of the Match for me.

Laurent Koscielny - 8/10

Koscielny was a rock in the Arsenal defence, easily dealing with the likes of Kane, Eriksen and Alli. With 11 clearances, four interceptions and three tackles, the Frenchman put in a mature performance in a massive game for the Gunners.

Nacho Monreal - 7/10

A yellow card took some of the shine away from Monreal's performance who otherwise did not put a foot wrong.

Sead Kolasinac - 6.5/10

Kolasinac did not make too many marauding runs forward tonight, but was steady enough in defence, keeping Kieran Trippier in check for most of the game.

Granit Xhaka - 5/10

How Xhaka is still getting starts is beyond me. In what was a scintillating display by the home side, Xhaka was the lone negative. A crucial slip in the second half allowed Eriksen in behind the defence and it was only Mustafi's brilliance that prevented Spurs from pulling one back. A booking added to his woes.

Aaron Ramsey - 7/10

Ramsey added a lot of energy to Arsenal's midfield. He produced two exquisite through balls, first to Bellerin who saw his cross go agonisingly close to Lacazette's boot.

Mesut Ozil - 8/10

The Wizard of Oz found his magical touch

Ozil had his best game in an Arsenal shirt this season. Although his passing was a bit lacking, it was his pinpoint freekick that led to the Gunners' opening goal. The German even managed to outmuscle Dembele and Vertonghen during the match, which was a pleasant surprise for the Gunners fans.

Alexis Sanchez - 8.5/10

Sanchez grew into the game as it progressed and got Arsenal's second goal with a powerful finish from close range. He was unlucky not to get a second late in the second half, with Lloris making a good low save after the Chilean had muscled his way into the box. This performance would have certainly pleased the Arsenal manager and fans who have been rather frustrated with the Chilean's unenthusiastic showings this season.

Alexandre Lacazette - 7/10

Lacazette did not have his scoring boots on today. The Frenchman missed a glorious chance early on to give his side the lead, blazing one over the post from just inside the box. However, he caused the Spurs defence plenty of problems with his runs in between the defenders. He came close to getting on the scoresheet later on as well, but was just inches away from getting his foot onto the end of a Hector Bellerin cross. He did provide the assist for the second goal, beating the offside trap and squaring to Sanchez who did the rest.

Substitutes

Francis Coquelin - 5/10

Coquelin replaced Lacazette in an attempt to help maintain Arsenal's lead and he did that well enough.

Alex Iwobi - N/A

Iwobi came on in the 83rd minute and did not have enough time to impact the game.

Tottenham Hotspur

Hugo Lloris - 6/10

Lloris couldn't do much about the two goals; the first was a near-perfect header and the second a powerful strike from a few yards out. He did make a good low save late in the second half to deny Alexis Sanchez a second goal.

Davinson Sanchez - 6/10

Sanchez was Spurs' best defender on the night, and held his own in the battle against Alexis Sanchez. However, he did concede the freekick that led to Arsenal's opener.

Jan Vertonghen - 5/10

Vertonghen was largely to blame for Arsenal's opening goal as he was beaten in the air by Mustafi. The Belgian struggled without Toby Alderweireld beside him in defence and will look to put this performance behind him as soon as he possibly can.

Kieran Trippier - 4/10

Trippier had 0 clearances, 0 tackles, 0 shots, 0 dribbles, 0 accurate crosses and 0 key passes in 90 minutes of play. Need I say anything else?

Eric Dier - 5/10

Dier made one crucial interception in the first half, preventing Lacazette from getting on the end of an Ozil cutback. However, Arsenal's high pressing game seemed to put the shivers in him as he looked jittery in possession, giving the ball away quite often.

Ben Davies - 4.5/10

Davies had a torrid time on the lift, allowing Bellerin acres of space to run into behind him on several occasions. He got forward on a couple of occasions but his crosses were easily dealt with by the Arsenal defence.

Moussa Sissoko - 6/10

Sissoko worked hard in the midfield and made a couple of driving runs through the middle but that was all he could manage as the Arsenal midfielders managed to stifle him pretty well.

Mousa Dembele - 4/10

Being muscled off the ball by Mesut Ozil pretty much summed up Dembele's game. The Belgian could not control the midfield and was overrun by the likes of Ramsey and Ozil. He was replaced by Winks just after the hour mark.

Christian Eriksen - 6.5/10

Eriksen was the only Spurs player who managed to trouble the Arsenal defence to an extent. He was the one who came the closest to scoring for the visitors but had a great low shot well saved by Cech. The Dane's passing was on point on the night and he even set up Harry Kane in the second half only to see the striker's shot blocked by Mustafi.

Dele Alli - 5/10

Many felt going into the game that Alli would be Arsenal's tormentor-in-chief especially with Kane not looking match fit, but the 21-year-old was invisible on the night. He managed just 41 touches in the 70 odd minutes he was on the pitch, spending most of his time searching for space that wasn't forthcoming.

Harry Kane - 4/10

Kane had an extremely poor game, struggling to shake off the Arsenal defenders and get some shots on goal. He did have one in the second half which was well blocked by Mustafi and also a header in the first half which was easily saved by Cech. A frustrating night for Spurs' talisman who also received a yellow for hacking down Monreal.

Substitutes

Harry Winks - 5/10

Winks entered the game just past the hour mark but had no impact whatsoever.

Son Heung-min - 4/10

Son came on in the 74th minute in place of Dele Alli. He spurned a great chance to pull one back for Spurs, volleying one into the third tier from close range.

Fernando Llorente - 5/10

Llorente replaced Kane with Spurs already two down. He cushioned a great header into Son's path but the Korean's volley was wayward.