GOALS: Arsenal: Ozil (58), Walcott (68), Giroud (84)
MAN OF THE MATCH: Mesut Ozil. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen Ozil have such a dominant performance, but he was back to pulling the strings and he had an excellent second half.
THE WEAK LINK: No weak links on this night. The entire lineup was strong.
THE REFEREE: Martin Atkinson 2. He ignored three penalties against Arsenal, the first when Walcott was bodied off the ball, the second when Monreal was stepped on, and the third when Monreal was tripped. How the PL can continue to offer him many of the elite matches is beyond me.
THE MANAGER: 8. The lineup played well and his substitutions were effective. Whatever he said at halftime made a difference.
OVERALL TEAM RATING: 9. A patchy first half performance had some good moments, but the second half was fantastic. After the Ozil goal the team played with a confidence and swagger that we haven’t seen for some time.
VERDICT: Hopefully Arsenal have turned the corner and can now go on an extended run with this kind of form and confidence. Big matches await and the squad needs to focus on the matches and not on the off field squabbling between the fans.
PLAYER RATINGS:
Martinez 7: A fine match from Martinez, who had little to do, but still made a couple of key saves in the second half off Lanzini and Fernandes.
Bellerin 7: He started off the match with a poor challenge that resulted in a yellow card (he’d probably been told that he should have hauled Sane down last weekend). In the end he delivered a strong match, marauding constantly upfield. He missed a glorious chance to score when he snuck into the middle and stabbed an Alexis cross just inches wide of the post.
Mustafi 7: He had a strong match and helped to keep Carroll under wraps.
Gabriel 8: One of his best performances ever for Arsenal. No mistakes and strong throughout.
Monreal 7: A fine match for Nacho. He was always available on the overlap and put in several good crosses. He also should have had two penalties, but the ref had no sympathy.
Elneny 7: He delivered an excellent performance and may just keep Coquelin on the sidelines till the end of the season. He was busy and always in the right place.He had several shots and headers at goal, but it’s best we not speak of these.
Xhaka 7: Wenger likes the word efficient and this is what he was. He dominated and his passes spread the ball around and kept it moving.
Ozil 9: A fine goal and an assist on Walcott’s goal were the highlights, but his work rate was immense and he set up a number of moves that never quite came off. This is the Mesut Ozil we need every game.
Walcott 7: Should have had a penalty in the first half, but Atkinson wouldn’t call it. He looked dangerous a number of times, but his shooting in the first half was inaccurate and he was a tad greedy a couple of times. In the second half he continued to look dangerous and he pounced on Ozil’s cross to score the goal that killed off the match. He also made a fine run and set up Welbeck, but he couldn’t score.
Sanchez 8: He wanted a goal, but it wouldn’t come tonight. He was fouled often and the referee generally ignored these offences. That said, he looked dominant and made a number of intricate plays, such as the backheel to Ozil in the buildup of the second goal. His chest control of the ball was amazing, twice showing off some of his outrageous skill.
Welbeck 7: His pace is difficult to handle and he’ll be thinking about the chances he missed. In the first half he couldn’t really connect on the delicate chipped free-kick from Alexis that found him alone in the area. In the second half Walcott set him up, but he couldn’t find the net.
Substitutes:
Oxlade-Chamberlain 6: A powerful run set up Giroud’s goal. He made several other positive contributions in his brief cameo.
Giroud 7: A gorgeous goal set up by the Ox. Olivier curled it in with power and confidence.
Ramsey 5: Didn’t have time to make a big impact.