Arsenal entertained BATE Borisov at the Emirates Stadium earlier this evening looking to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit. The Gunners began the match on the offensive and took the lead in the 9th minute courtesy of an unfortunate Zakhar Volkov own goal. The home team got themselves ahead in the tie for the first time when Mustafi headed the ball in from a Granit Xhaka corner in the 39th minute.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos scored again at the hour mark to put the North London outfit in a commanding position of progressing into the next round of the competition. Unai Emery’s men held on to secure a brilliant 3-0 victory on the night.
Let’s take a look at how each Arsenal player performed during the match against BATE Borisov.
GK: Petr Cech – 6.5/10
The veteran keeper was hardly tested during the game and kept one of the most comfortable clean sheets of his career.
RB: Stephan Lichtsteiner – 7.5/10
The Swiss international made a brilliant clearance early on and was a good outlet for Arsenal down the right flank.
CB: Shkodran Mustafi – 7/10
He found it relatively easy dealing with the threat of the BATE attackers. It was a comfortable night’s work for the German centre-back!
CB: Laurent Koscielny – 6/10
He was decent in the first half but let the away side in with a rare chance due to a mistake early in the second half. He had to be replaced after sustaining an injury.
LB: Nacho Monreal – 6/10
The Spaniard was always looking to attack down the left touchline and was hardly troubled defensively during the match.
CM: Matteo Guendouzi – 7/10
It was another bright and energetic display from the French youngster. He pulled strings from midfield and was unfortunate not to score with his attempt at goal.
CM: Granit Xhaka – 7/10
The Swiss international earned two assists from his corners and was a commanding presence for Arsenal at the centre of the park.
RM: Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 6.5/10
The Armenian midfielder linked up play well with his teammates but lacked the cutting edge in the attacking end of the pitch.
CAM: Mesut Özil – 8.5/10
The German midfielder saw a lot of the ball and created some fantastic chances for his teammates going forward. It was a classy performance from the Arsenal maestro!
LM: Alex Iwobi – 8/10
The Gunner speedster was bright and vibrant in midfield and was willing to make some direct and penetrative runs in the opposition half.
ST: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 7/10
Even though the Gabonese forward failed to hit the target, he forced the own goal early on in the match and did a decent job spearheading Emery’s attack.
Substitutes:
CB: Sokratis Papastathopoulos – 7.5/10
The Greek defensive ace came off the bench to score with a good header. He did enough defensively to see off a rare shut-out at the back.
CM: Lucas Torreira – 6/10
The Uruguayan talent came on to provide some fresh pair of legs in midfield.
CAM: Denis Suarez – 5/10
He was a passenger throughout most of his time on the pitch.
