It was a night to remember for the Arsenal fans as their side overturned a two-goal deficit from the first leg of their round of 16 matchup against Stade Rennais and won the second leg by 3-0 to advance to the quarter-final stage. It was a clinical performance from Unai Emery’s men as they brought up a well-deserved win on the night and won the tie with an aggregate scoreline of 4-3.
The Gunners started to push for the goal from the very first whistle and got their rewards in the first half as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ainsley Maitland-Niles put them ahead with goals in the 5th and 15th minutes respectively. The Gabon international turned into the “Superhero” for his side after he scored a second in the 72nd minute but was unfortunately booked for his over the top celebration. The Rennes players tried their best to get a goal and book a place in the next round, but the Arsenal defenders were up to the task as they forced ten offside errors on the visitors.
Here is how the Arsenal players were rated from their win against Stade Rennais.
Petr Cech: 7
A well deserved clean sheet for the veteran as he was fearless in plucking the ball off the feet of the Rennes attackers on quite a few occasions. Took a knock on his head in the process to bring back the memories of that scary moment from the Reading match but was unharmed.
Shkodran Mustafi: 7
Played beautifully in sync with his partners in the three men backline to catch the opposition attackers in the offside trap ten times. Made some crucial interceptions as well.
Laurent Koscielny: 7
Brilliant composure in the backline as he safeguarded the Arsenal goal with all his experience. Helped Cech leave the pitch with a clean sheet.
Nacho Monreal: 6
Had a very good first half in the backline for the Gunners. Looked a little caught up against the guile of Hatem Ben Arfa in the second half as he let him make runs into the danger area.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 8
Kept getting into the opposition box and caused problems for the opposition defenders with his darting runs. Scored the second goal for his side with a brilliant header off Aubameyang’s pinpoint cross.
Aaron Ramsey: 7
Put in a solid shift in the middle of the pitch alongside Xhaka. Set Aubameyang up in the box with a brilliant pass but he missed the sitter.
Granit Xhaka: 6.5
Looked good in the first half with his physicality and accurate passing. Got a little wayward in the second half though.
Sead Kolasinac: 7
Kept getting into the channels with his darting runs down the left-hand side and delivered a few good balls into the danger area. Looked a bit fatigued right towards the end of the match.
Mesut Ozil: 6
Made some good runs into the opposition half and deceived the opposition defenders with his lazy elegance on the ball. Was caught up while backtracking and gave away the ball on a few occasions in the second half.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 8
The “Black Panther” on the prowl! Opened the scoring early in the match and then assisted Maitland-Niles with a brilliant cross to get his side in the driver’s seat. Should have ended the game with four goals to his name but he squandered two sitters in the second half. Looked like a threat throughout the match.
Alexandre Lacazette: 6.5
Kept pushing for the goal whenever he got the ball. Caused a few problems for the Rennes defence with his classy footwork.
Substitutes
Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 7
Kept good possession of the ball and passed it well to open up spaces in the opposition half.
Alex Iwobi: 6
His darting runs and nimble footwork caused some problems for the Rennes defence. Was lucky to escape a booking in the second half for kicking out.
Lucas Torreira: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
