Arsenal faced off against FC Vorskla in the UEFA Europa League earlier tonight with Unai Emery opting to make a whole host of changes to his side ahead of this European clash. The Gunners were dominant from the get-go and managed to take the lead in the 10th minute courtesy of Emile Smith-Rowe’s fine finish. Aaron Ramsey doubled the away team’s lead from the penalty spot just 17 minutes later. Joe Willock scored Arsenal’s third goal with a well-placed finish in the 41st minute to put his side in a commanding position at half-time.
Both teams battled hard in the second half but couldn’t add to the goal-tally as the match finished 3-0 in favour of the North London outfit.
Let’s take a look at how each Arsenal player performed during the match against Vorskla.
GK: Petr Cech – 7/10
The Gunners keeper kept his concentration levels up and made an excellent save in the second half to earn a clean sheet away at Ukraine.
RB: Stephan Lichtsteiner – 7/10
The Swiss full-back was a wonderful outlet for Arsenal down the right flank and was hardly troubled defensively by the Vorskla forwards.
CB: Carl Jenkinson – 6.5/10
He did well to operate as a makeshift centre-back and formed a solid partnership with Holding at the heart of the Arsenal defence.
CB: Rob Holding – 7/10
The youngster commanded his box well and won a lot of headers to keep the Vorskla attackers at bay. He is growing in confidence with each game which would please Emery.
LB: Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 7/10
He exploited the space left behind by the Ukrainian team down the left wing by making some intelligent runs and linking up play with Smith-Rowe. It was another excellent performance for the Gunners prospect.
CM: Mohamed Elneny – 6.5/10
His distribution was quite good on the night while he was also not afraid to do the dirty defensive work to stop Vorskla from scoring.
CM: Matteo Guendouzi – 7/10
Another impressive performance from the French midfielder in an Arsenal shirt. Guendouzi ran the show in midfield and was quite adventurous in the opposition half.
RM: Joe Willock – 8/10
The Arsenal wonderkid was always looking to get into the opposition box and scored his first goal for the Gunners with a smart finish in the 41st minute.
CAM: Aaron Ramsey – 8/10
The Welsh midfielder enjoyed the freedom while operating in the number 10 position and kept calm under pressure to convert the spot-kick. He linked up well with his teammates and was far too good for the Vorskla defence.
LM: Emile Smith-Rowe – 8.5/10
He scored the all-important first goal and was always looking to be positive with the ball at his feet. It was another eye-catching display by the Gunners prodigy. Unlucky not to have added another goal on the night as his simple finish in the second half was ruled out by the referee.
ST: Edward Nketiah – 8/10
He worked his socks off up top and made some great runs behind the Vorskla backline. Nketiah set-up the first goal but was unlucky not to get his name on the scoresheet tonight.
Substitutes:
CB: Zech Medley – 7/10
Medley kept a calm head when he was put under pressure by the home team and did enough to see out a clean sheet.
LW: Bukayo Saka – 6/10
He made a great run in the second half but couldn’t convert when the chance presented itself.
CM: Charlie Gilmore – 6/10
He distributed the ball well after coming off the bench for the final quarter of the match.
