Arsenal beat Hull City yet again at the KCOM Stadium to move up to 2nd in the table as they scored 4 past the Tigers. The game started off brightly for both the teams but a Red Card late in the first half changed the dynamics with the visitors being able to dominate fully with their numerical advantage. Hull fought hard and also scored a goal to make things interesting in the second half when the score line read 2-1 but Arsenal managed the rest of the game superbly to go home with three more points in their kitty. Let’s look at how the players performed in the game on a scale of 10.
Petr Cech (6/10)
Was a spectator for most parts of the game. Cech got involved when he gave away a penalty in the second half but overall it was otherwise a comfortable outing for the keeper.
Hector Bellerin (7/10)
Got forward well and was good defensively also. Passed the ball very well as the team managed to dominate possession.
Shkodran Mustafi (7/10)
A much better performance by the new signing being strong in the tackle and in the interceptions. Looked assured with his passing and barring a couple of incidents where he erred in his judgements it looks like he is settling well in the Arsenal backline.
Laurent Koscielny (6.5/10)
Wasn’t troubled that much to be honest and also didn’t do a lot of tackling but was strong as usual with his interceptions and used his experience very well to successfully jockey his man nullifying the threats.
Nacho Monreal (6.5/10)
Was put under some pressure by Snodgrass and was not helped at all by Iwobi, as he could only win 1 of his 6 attempted tackles but the Spaniard was able to show his class with his anticipation, containing the situations at the back by providing excellent support upfront in the attacks
Theo Walcott (7.5/10)
Great with his movement and runs in behind the defence. Scored a beautiful goal and also created two chances for his teammates. Got into some good positions often. A very promising performance and a very satisfying 100th career goal scored for the Englishman.
Francis Coquelin (6.5/10)
Very good with his passing but poor in his tackling. Got forward a lot more but was able to make some excellent blocks when they were needed.
Santi Cazorla (6.5/10)
Very good and accurate with his distribution but wasn’t able to create a lot. Managed to keep things ticking in the midfield and was subbed as his manager was not inclined to take any chances with him being cautioned already.
Alex Iwobi (8/10)
Excellent performance from the youngster. Oozed confidence with his passing and movement. Was involved heavily in the first goal as it was his shot which got deflected off Sanchez into the net and provided a delightful back heel assist to Theo Walcott for the second.
Mesut Ozil (7/10)
95% passing accuracy from the German, walked with the ball mostly and looked like he took it a bit too easily. Missed an absolute sitter, was very predictable with his movement also. Created just two chances in the whole game.
Alexis Sanchez (7/10)
Alexis, despite his two goals, is not a striker and struggles to get into the game trying to remain up the pitch. He dropped down a lot and linked up well with his teammates. Worked very hard and didn’t let his penalty miss affect his confidence.
Subs
Granit Xhaka (7/10)
Came on in the 67th minute and created two chances with scoring an absolute blinder from a distance. Needs to start for Arsenal.
Mohamed Elneny (6/10)
Played for the last 13 minutes and looked busy as usual. Had an assist as Xhaka scored a beauty from distance.
Lucas Perez
Came on in the 88th minute.
