Goals: Arsenal: Welbeck (6, 50), Lacazette (28)
Man of the Match/Goat of the Game: Danny Welbeck was the man of the match, two goals and a number of other chances the highlights. There were no weak performances on the day.
Referee Rating: Anthony Taylor 8. Usually he’s harsh on us, but he was pretty solid today. He did deny us a penalty after a handball in the box.
Manager Rating: Wenger 8. It was a solid performance and the manager made all the right decisions, including keeping Sanchez on the bench.
Arsenal performance: A good strong performance in a match loaded with pressure, given what happened two weeks ago. An early goal settled the nerves and the team created a number of chances and easily beat Bournemouth, who created very little.
Conclusion: The match will boost the team’s confidence, but next week’s match against Chelsea will reveal much more. Wenger is likely to field the rest of the squad against Cologne on Thursday, hoping that time off will allow them to perform better against Chelsea.
Player Ratings:
Cech 7: Was lucky that Defoe’s header hit the upright. He made a late save from a header, but otherwise had little to do the entire match.
Mustafi 6: He was a little over aggressive a couple of times and conceded free-kicks, but he generally played well.
Koscielny 6: Solid at the back. He took a knock when King “landed” on his leg.
Monreal 6: Was comfortable most of the day at the back.
Ramsey 7: A few wayward passes, but he was solid going forward, assisting on the third goal. Left the field early, hopefully for precautionary reasons.
Xhaka 7: A solid match in the middle. He had a couple of shots as well, one of which produced a good save from Begovic.
Bellerin 7: A good match with a number of strong runs forward. His final ball was a little disappointing.
Kolasinac 7: He had an assist on the opening goal and managed to get forward often. Did make a couple of sloppy giveaways in the second half.
Ozil 8: Today he showed the “legends” what he can do. He was at the heart of most of our attacks and he looked up for the match. He thumped a volley wide and his free-kick produced a fine save from Begovic.
Lacazette 8: He scored a super goal which highlighted his abilities. The chance opened up for a moment, but he coolly slotted the ball home, picking the top corner. He had one other half chance, but he struck the ball into Begovic’s face. He was also involved in the buildup of a number of attacks.
Welbeck 9: The first goal was a little ugly, ricocheting from Danny’s head to his shoulder, but it went in. The second was excellent, well struck into the far corner. Twice he almost picked Begovic’s pocket, the second time almost scoring. He had a great chance to get his hat-trick, but he chipped the ball just over the bar after a great run.
Substitutes:
Coquelin n/a:He had a great chance to score, but Ake managed to deflect the ball at the last moment. Shortly after, he looked like he’d hurt his hamstring and had to come off.
Giroud 7: His cameo was brief, but he looked good.
Sanchez 7: He too had a brief outing, but he played well and didn’t show any signs of sulking.