Arsenal Vs Rennes: 5 things we learned – Done and dusted

4. Unai Emery nailed it

There was a point in the second half when Arsenal had lost their intensity and the bittiness of the match was beginning to become an issue — as an aside, the continual fouling and overreaction of being fouled from both teams was tiresome and really took away from what should have been a terrific spectacle. Unai Emery needed to change things. He did. And he absolutely nailed it.

On the 70th minute, Emery introduced Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette, shifting to a 3-4-3 formation in the process. Immediately, Arsenal were able to exert more control over the game. Their combined energy, pressing and silky skill on the ball enabled the Gunners to play between the Rennes lines and progress the play up the pitch, thus preserving possession.

Mkhitaryan played a key role in the third goal, feeding Sead Kolasinac with a beautifully weighted pass, while Iwobi’s twinkle toes won freekicks to kill the game late on and set up Aubameyang for what should have been his hat-trick. But the credit for the substitutions should go to Emery. He changed it when it wasn’t working and is now reaping the rewards.