Arsenal player ratings vs Leeds: Aubameyang nets Premier League hat-trick

Arsenal stormed to a 4-2 win against Leeds in the Premier League on Sunday with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netting a hat-trick. These are the player ratings.

The first of five matches over the course of 14 days took place on Valentine’s Day, with Mikel Arteta’s side without victory in their previous three top-flight outings. With injuries to key players to contend with, Dani Ceballos started in midfield alongside Granit Xhaka.

Starting well, the only concern was whether Arsenal could make the most of their dominance, something they did when Pierre-Emerick Aubamayeng smartly struck beyond Meslier. He then made no mistake from the spot after Bukayo Saka was clumsily felled, shortly after the same player was denied a penalty by VAR.

Hector Bellerin slammed home just before break to put daylight between the Gunners and Leeds, with the second half starting in similar fashion as Aubameyang completed his hat-trick after lovely ball from Emile Smith Rowe.

Arsenal players ratings vs Leeds in the Premier League on Sunday

Pascal Struijk pulled one back for the visitors with a towering header, and when all appeared to be totally composed, the Gunners fell asleep and Helder Costa reduced the scoreline to 4-2.

Arsenal held firm(ish) to see out the win, and what a win it was. Needed that.

Arsenal Goalkeeper and Defenders Ratings

Bernd Leno (GK) – 7/10 – Little to do. His distribution was neat, finding his man with welcome frequency. Made one fine save from Raphinha but was otherwise untroubled bar picking the ball out of the net twice.

Hector Bellerin (RB) – 7/10 – Scored his goal with aplomb and got up and down the pitch with great frequency all game. Still slightly off in a few situations but a solid outing nonetheless, which is why him falling asleep for the second Leeds goal is nowhere near good enough.

David Luiz (CB) – 7/10 – Had a few hairy moments with some of his long passing fairly weak, while he also fancied a few marauding charges forward. Still, he adds another dimension to the side when he’s in and against a Leeds side wanting to press high, it was a smart move. Did well.

Gabriel (CB) – 8/10 – Added fluidity playing out from the back with his clever pressing and neat distribution. He’s still getting back up to speed but Sunday was a solid step in the right direction for him and the timing of his moves and tackles was much improved.

Cedric Soares (LB) – 8/10 – All Cedric’s glaring errors come on the wrong side, so how he’s managed to keep most of them in check despite the obvious struggles of playing on the opposite flank deserve credit. Linked up well with Smith Rowe.