Despite conceding a goal in the first-half, Arsenal came back strongly in the second half to secure a 2-1 win over Swansea City at the Emirates Stadium today. Sam Clucas scored the first goal of the game to hand the lead to the Swans but the rejuvenated Gunners deserved to bag all three points after Sead Kolasinac and Aaron Ramsey scored a goal each.
Here is how Arsene Wenger’s men fared against Paul Clement’s troops.
Petr Cech 6/10
The veteran custodian should have done better to deny Sam Clucas’ goal in the first half. However, he did make some decent saves to ensure that his side bag all three points.
Laurent Koscielny 5.5/10
It was one of the worst days at the office for Koscielny, who failed to impose his grit and also failed to inject resilience into the backline. He was exposed on plenty of occasions and looked weak and timorous, more often than not.
Per Mertesacker 6.5/10
For the big German, it was a mixed outing, for he shielded Cech well and brought stability but his lack of pace was showcased once again.
Nacho Monreal 7/10
Monreal was pretty industrious and made swift transitions between his offensive and defensive endeavours. Although he wasn’t exceptional, he did his basics right.
Sead Kolasinac 8/10
Arsenal’s summer signing, Kolasinac, was absolutely marvellous to watch owing to the manner he broke the counter attacks from the visiting side. Further, he himself went forward to attack time and again and scored a goal early in the second-half to balance the score sheet.
Hector Bellerin 6/10
Bellerin was one of the parties at fault for the goal conceded by Wenger’s side, but he did put forth some stellar attacking endeavours, although he should have contributed more defensively.
Granit Xhaka 6.5/10
The Swiss international was decent in the midfield as he knitted the side together as a unit with his precise passes. He toiled relentlessly and apart from his attempts to create chances, he defended quite well too.
Aaron Ramsey 8/10
It was another productive outing for Ramsey who saved the day for the North London based club by handing them the lead in the second-half. Apart from his cool finish, he kept driving forward innumerable times and always looked involved in trying to possession for his side.
Mesut Ozil 7/10
Although he wasn’t given much space to spark out anything magical, Ozil had some really nice touches and kept sending decent balls into the box.
Alexis Sanchez 8/10
The Chilean worked really hard although he lacked the cutting edge to find his name on the score sheet. Nonetheless, it was a good game for him.
Alexandre Lacazette 7/10
Lacazette did put pressure on Swansea City’s defence but never looked like scoring himself. The Frenchman was clearly bereft of his usual predatory instincts.
Substitutions
Rob Holding 5/10 (78’)
The youngster replaced Kolasinac after he got injured and kept his calm and composure.
Olivier Giroud 6/10 (81’)
Giroud upped the ante after coming on for Lacazette and created a couple of good balls, and was unfortunate not to score.
