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Arsenal 3-0 Aston Villa: Player Ratings
Arsenal eased to a comfortable win at Villa Park Saturday, with Ozil and Welbeck both opening their accounts for this campaign. A first half flurry of three goals in as many minutes saw the Gunners take all three points. Here are your player ratings:
Szczesny: 7.8
Almost entirely unused in the second half, his massive save from Clark’s header kept the door open for Arsenal to strike first. Made up for mistakes midweek against Borussia Dortmund.
Chambers: 7.5
Chambers is a quality backup at right back, but his maturity and decision-making is still lacking. Could have been sent off midway through the second, but cooled off in the final minutes and used his physicality intelligently.
Mertesacker: 7.7
While the quality dip from Dortmund footballers to Villa footballers certainly helped, Mertesacker was again the pillar Arsenal fans are used to seeing in the middle. Got down well to head away a couple crosses and did well to manage the speed of Agbonlahor with Koscielny.
Koscielny: 7.7
Developing a tendency to play unnecessarily aggressive passes, but partnered well with Mertesacker. Kept threats to a minimum, albeit from a largely uninterested squad in the second half.
Gibbs: 7.8
Much more comfortable to watch operate than Monreal with a wonderful turn of speed. Got forward well and delivered the ball Cissokho poked into the back of his own net. Whether it was a shot gone wide or a pass for the onrushing Oxlade-Chamberlain, his streaking into the final third to pick up possession made the difference in that attack.
Arteta: 7.3
Enjoyed a better evening than in Germany. Having a midfielder next to him in a 4-2-3-1 system complements his qualities and disguises his weaknesses. Some uncharacteristically poor passes will mar the assessment of his performance.
Ramsey: 7.4
Struggled with his passing the whole match, including a shocker that went out for a corner. Clearly exhausted in the later stages of his involvement, but played a wonderful ball to Ozil to set up a delicious cross for Arsenal’s second goal.
Cazorla: 7.7
Played mainly on the left to make room for Ozil in the middle before switching to the right in the later stages. He’s in good form and a great player to have as an option on the left.
Oxlade-Chamberlain: 7.6
More from Arsenal Player Ratings
- Everton 0-1 Arsenal: Player ratings as Gunners win at Goodison
- PITA’s Arsenal Player of the Month – August 2023
- Arsenal 3-1 Man Utd: Player ratings as Rice strikes at the death
- Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal: Player ratings as 10-man Gunners hold on
- Arsenal 1-1 (4-1p) Man City: Player ratings from Community Shield victory
Given the start over Alexis, presumably to rest the Chilean for the upcoming fixtures, the Ox is a wrecking ball who significantly impacts the game. Whether he starts on the wing or in a more central position, he’s fast, physical, and combines well on the right with fellow youngster Calum Chambers.
Ozil: 8.6- MAN OF THE MATCH
Oh, Mesut. A performance of great quality from the German international won’t silence his critics, but it will sate them for an afternoon or so. Combines consistently with Welbeck, as seen by his first goal and his assist one minute later. Looked hungrier than past matches.
Welbeck: 8.4
Deserved the goal from Ozil’s cross, having played a scintillating pass in for the German’s goal a minute prior. His movement is top class and his strength on the ball is wonderful to see. The opportunity to play in the middle isn’t being wasted, and a top four of Walcott, Welbeck, Alexis, and Ozil is a terrific prospect.
Rosicky: 7.5
Fiercely positive no matter when he’s deployed, there was little to be done against a Villa defence with no interest in getting forward.
Wilshere: 7.3
There’s a case to be made for him to start next to Arteta instead of Ramsey given the recent form of both men. Didn’t have a great deal of time to exert his influence on proceedings. The brunt of his failed passes came from trying to start quick-hitting moves on the left with Podolski.
Podolski: 7.1
Got on the pitch, ran around a bit. Given current options, it’s going to be difficult to see any significant time in the German’s future.
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