Arsenal Vs Lincoln City: Player Ratings

Arsenal hosted Lincoln City on Saturday evening in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Here are the player ratings from the 5-0 win.

In the end, it was a comfortable, professional win from Arsenal, despite there being moments of uncertainty during the first 45 minutes. The second half was a rampage for the Gunners, in which the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud scored confidence-instilling goals as the team looks to recover from a poor run of form that has seen their Champions League hopes scuppered and the threat of slipping out the top four loom large.

Here are the player ratings from the 5-0 win.

Made some very adept saves throughout the 90 minutes. Was perhaps a little more active than Wenger would have liked but showed great experience in being alert when he needed to be.. GK. Arsenal FC. PETR CECH. 7.5

Looked dangerous pushing forward once again, including a lovely cut-back for Giroud’s goal. Very little to do defensively though and won’t be judged on this game.. DEF. Arsenal. HECTOR BELLERIN. 7.0

Struggled in the opening moments with the physicality of Lincoln. Settled into the game well though and showed off accurate and forward-thinking distribution throughout.. DEF. Arsenal FC. SHKODRAN MUSTAFI. 6.5

7.0. Professional is the best way of describing his performance. Defended well when he needed to and kept the ball moving quickly against a well-organised Lincoln defence.. DEF. Arsenal FC. LAURENT KOSCIELNY

7.5. Created a lot when overlapping in the second half and showed adept distribution in the final third. Did miss a header that should have been a goal, but showed intelligent play for Walcott’s goal and the own goal.. DEF. Arsenal FC. KIERAN GIBBS

MID. Arsenal FC. GRANIT XHAKA. 8.0. Looks so much more comfortable in the deepest-lying role, especially when given as much time and space on the ball as he was today. Needs to be careful with diving into tackles but showed the potential that he has in the role moving forward.

Arsenal FC. AARON RAMSEY. 7.5. A slightly odd display from the Welshman. Showed great energy and willingness to make the late runs into the box but then proceeded to fluff his lines on numerous occasions once into those positions. Did take his goal very well, however.. MID

Played for very little of the game. Hopefully, his injury is not too long-term and that he will get back into the first team sometime soon.. MID. Arsenal FC. ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN. N/A

MID. Arsenal. ALEXIS SANCHEZ. 8.5. MAN OF THE MATCH: Was terrible in the first half. More than made up for it in the second. Was at the centre of all four goals scored after the break, including a lovely reverse pass for Hector Bellerin and a curled, long-range finish. Will be difficult to replace come the summer.

Was very lively throughout the first half and looked the most likely to break the deadlock. His goal was a poor finish that was fortunately deflected into the far corner but does create space for others primarily thanks to hs frightening pace.. MID. Arsenal. THEO WALCOTT. 8.0

OLIVIER GIROUD. 7.5. Finished his goal well and held up the ball in the second half with great precision and power. Does have his uses in the squad as the aerially dominant striker but must be used carefully.. ST. Arsenal FC

6.5. Came on for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the first half and showed his usual fluency and rhythm in the passing moves. Still needs to win over a lot of fans however.. SUB. Arsenal. MESUT OZIL

There is no rating for Lucas Perez or Francis Coquelin given the state of the game when they came on.

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