Arsenal locked horns with West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns earlier tonight looking to secure maximum points on the road. The Gunners made a bright start to the game and took the lead courtesy of a wonderful solo goal by Kieran Tierney in the 23rd minute. Bukayo Saka doubled his team’s advantage just two minutes later with a close-range finish. The North London outfit went into the half-time break with a commanding two-goal lead.
Alexandre Lacazette scored a quick-fire brace in the second 45 minutes as Mikel Arteta’s men ran away with a dominant 4-0 victory from the West Midlands.
Let’s take a look at how each Arsenal player fared during the clash against the Baggies.
GK: Bernd Leno – 7/10
The German keeper made some solid saves during the game to secure a valuable clean sheet away from home. Arteta will be quite happy with his performance tonight.
RB: Hector Bellerin – 6.5/10
The Spanish full-back didn’t put a foot wrong when defending inside his half but struggled to create too many chances in the Baggies half. He was subbed early in the second half.
CB: Rob Holding – 8/10
Holding commanded his penalty area with authority and conviction. He made several important clearances during the 90 minutes and deserved to keep a clean sheet.
CB: Pablo Mari – 7/10
He supported his centre-back partner well and stood up to the test when called into action on the defensive end of the field.
LB: Kieran Tierney – 9/10
Tierney produced a performance for the ages as he was simply sensational throughout the 90 minutes. He showed great desire to run with the ball and scored a fabulous goal to open the goal-scoring in the first half. The Scottish full-back created some promising chances for others around him and fully deserved to be named the man of the match.
CM: Granit Xhaka – 7/10
The Swiss international kept the ball moving at the centre of the park but lacked creativity in the opposition half. He also provided adequate protection for his teammates in defence.
CM: Dani Ceballos – 8/10
The Spaniard ran the show in midfield and engineered a few decent chances in the attacking third. He was also strong in the air as well.
LW: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6.5/10
He was not shy about having a strike at goal but will be disappointed for not finding the back of the net.
RW: Bukayo Saka – 8.5/10
Saka was a constant menace for the West Brom defenders in the final third and took his goal well after some great build-up play with his teammates in the first half.
CAM: Emile Smith Rowe – 7.5/10
He set-up Saka’s goal with a great pass to bag an assist. The youngster caused a lot of headaches for the Baggies with his running in the decisive third of the field.
ST: Alexandre Lacazette – 8/10
The French striker had some bright moments in the first 45 minutes and scored two confidence-building goals in the second half. He also set-up a few inviting opportunities in the final third.
Substitutes:
RB: Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 7/10
He was solid at the back and did enough to get over the line with the clean sheet intact.
RW: Willian – 6/10
The Brazilian veteran was not the greatest after coming off the bench.
CM: Joseph Willock – 6/10
He struggled to get himself involved in the game.
