Arsenal faced off against Molde at the Aker Stadium earlier this evening hoping to secure another win in the UEFA Europa League. Both teams fought tooth and nail in the first half but couldn’t make the breakthrough and went into the half-time interval with nothing to split them.
The Gunners made an electric start to the second 45 minutes as they scored two quick-fire goals via Nicolas Pepe and Reiss Nelson respectively, leaving the home side with a mountain to climb. Folarin Balogun came off the bench to kill the game off as the match finished 3-0 in favour of Mikel Arteta’s men.
Let’s take a look at how each Arsenal player fared during the match against Molde.
GK: Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson – 6.5/10
The Gunners keeper didn’t have a save to make in the game and kept a comfortable clean sheet at the back. He was also quite tidy with his ball-distribution out from the back.
RB: Cedric Soares – 7/10
Soares was defensively solid and even created one good chance during the game. It was an encouraging display from him tonight.
CB: Shkodran Mustafi – 8/10
The German centre-back was a rock at the back and completely bossed the opposition throughout the 90 minutes. He made some crucial interceptions and was not afraid to clear the danger when needed.
CB: David Luiz – 7/10
The Brazilian defensive ace made some important clearances in the first half and got subbed at half-time.
LB: Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 7/10
He didn’t give away too much defensively and was a threat going forward as well. Arteta will be happy with his all-round performance down the left flank.
RM: Nicolas Pepe – 9/10
The former Ligue 1 winger was a constant nuisance for the opposition and orchestrated some inviting chances for his teammates in the final third. He scored the crucial opener early in the second half and also completed many dangerous dribbles out on the wide areas. It was a man of the match-worthy performance from him tonight.
CM: Joe Willock – 8/10
Willock dominated the midfield battle and showed his creativity by picking up two assists during his time on the field.
CM: Granit Xhaka – 7/10
He did well to provide adequate protection for his teammates in defence but got subbed just after the hour mark.
LM: Reiss Nelson – 8/10
Nelson caused a lot of headaches for the Molde defenders and scored a well-deserved goal ten minutes into the second half.
ST: Alexandre Lacazette – 7/10
The Frenchman linked up play well with his teammates in the attacking third and created quite a few decent opportunities for them to score. However, he will be disappointed for not getting a goal himself.
ST: Eddie Nketiah – 6/10
Nketiah should have gotten his name on the scoresheet but didn’t have his shooting boots on in front of goal. He got subbed before the end of the game.
Substitutes:
CB: Rob Holding – 7/10
The centre-back did his job well at the back and helped his team get over the line with the clean sheet intact.
CM: Dani Ceballos – 6.5/10
He created one good chance after coming on close to the hour mark.
CM: Emile Smith Rowe – 7/10
Smith Rowe came off the bench and got an assist to his name for setting up Balogun’s goal.
LB: Kieran Tierney – 6/10
He did enough to see out the clean sheet.
ST: Folarin Balogun – 8/10
The English striker got a golden chance to impress as a substitute, and he did exactly that by finding the back of the net just two minutes after being introduced by Arteta.
