Arsenal vs Bournemouth Player Ratings

7.5. Petr Cech set the all time Premier League clean sheet record, but that will not effect his rating. He was rarely tested. Arsenal absolutely controlled the game and made Bournemouth look incredibly uncomfortable. Made the saves that were required but again, those saves were pedestrian efforts.. GK. Arsenal FC. PETR CECH

RB. Arsenal FC. HECTOR BELLERIN. 7.4. A good game to reestablish some form. Not a lot was required but he met all the minimal requirements that were needed of him. We’ve wanted a return to form where Bellerin could look his normal composed self and we saw that against Bournemouth.

6.8. Not a good rebound effort from Mertesacker. He looked incredibly shaky, especially early in the game. Never really established any sort of consistency at the back. It led to many awkward moments. Makes me rethink how deadset I was on making him the first choice yet again. No harm was done though, so it’s not all bad.. CB. Arsenal FC. PER MERTESACKER

Arsenal FC. GABRIEL PAULISTA. 8.7. What a game. This is what internal competition is supposed to look like. Gabriel Paulista realized that this was his shot and he took it. He looked absolutely mad on the pitch, in a good way. Aside from scoring his first ever Arsenal goal, he led the pitch with six interceptions and just seemed to be everywhere. Almost had another goal but it hit the post. It is going to be hard to sit Gabriel after what he just did.. CB

LB. Arsenal FC. KIERAN GIBBS. 7.2. A rare start for Gibbs but he did not disappoint. It’s nice to remind ourselves how many defensive options we have. There was no real gulf in class between the consistency of Nacho Monreal and what we saw out of Gibbs. The problem is he may be hurt against.

CALUM CHAMBERS. 7.9. Great game for Chambers. He made a statement. Wenger finally gave him a start at midfield and while he looked shaky at first, he found his footing and made a good showing. The young Englishman blocked four shots and showed that he has the athleticism to play the role.. RB. Arsenal FC

AARON RAMSEY. 7.1. Not a good day for Rambo. Led the team in touches but nothing else. While everyone around him was controlling the game, Ramsey looked out of it. Let’s chalk it up to exhaustion.. MID. Arsenal FC

7.3. Not bad. Not great. Walcott had some excellent opportunities but he was unable to beat Artur Boruc. It is nice to see him start to establish some ability on the ball and not rely so much on his runs being picked out. A great sign of what’s to come.. MID. Arsenal FC. THEO WALCOTT

MAN OF THE MATCH. What a performance. His numbers were gaudy. It’s like he took the Southampton debacle personally. Mesut Ozil did everything he wanted when he wanted. The game waited on him to tell it where to go. Nine key passes for the German. <a href=. MID. Arsenal FC. MESUT OZIL. 9.2

7.4. The Ox is so weird. He is literally sitting on the cusp of being something so special but there is just a tiny little something missing. Great defensive display, great runs and tremendous ability on the ball, but there is just something lacking. It has to just be a matter of time.. MID. Arsenal FC. ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN

7.1. I wanted to give Giroud a better rating for the flick-on alone, but the fact of the matter is that he did very little apart from that. I hope striker coverage is coming in January because Giroud looks tired. Whereas he is normally spurring the attack forward, it felt as if Giroud was a hindrance at times. What a flick-on though. What a flick-on.. ST. Arsenal FC. OLIVIER GIROUD

7.0. Came on for Olivier Giroud and had time to make a difference, but he showed little interest in doing that.. MID. Arsenal FC. JOEL CAMPBELL

7.2. Came on for an injured Gibbs. I could not tell the difference, which means both did a great job.. LB. Arsenal FC. NACHO MONREAL

7.0. Ran pretty fast.. LB. Arsenal FC. ALEX IWOBI