6 winners and 3 losers as Arsenal showboat their X factor to Lille in the Champions League

Arsenal hosted Lille in the second Champions League fixture of the season, with the scoreline ending Arsenal 3-0 Lille.

The French visitors came to the Emirates Stadium and surprised everybody but themselves. They were a tough nut to crack, particularly in the first half. In the first 45 minutes, Arsenal registered six shots but were denied each time, with Berke Ozer proving to be resilient between the sticks.

Then, in the second half, Arsenal made wholesale changes, and they completely changed the game for the Gunners. In the end, it was a fruitful night for Mikel Arteta's men.

Loser #1 - Noni Madueke

Noni Madueke played well at the weekend on the left, but tonight, he started on the right, where he is more used to playing for Arsenal. You wouldn't have thought so, though. He was, for lack of a better word, dreadful.

He was tasked with providing crosses, a task he failed to live up to. With a cross accuracy of 7% (attempting 15, successfully registering just ONE), this was a night to forget for Madueke. Thankfully, Bukayo Saka was brought on after just 65 minutes.

Winner #1 - Myles Lewis-Skelly

Lewis-Skelly was tasked with playing at right-back tonight, after a period of playing in midfield. He proved that he hasn't lost anything at full-back and he remains a viable option there.

With Bruno Guimaraes entering form in midfield, Lewis-Skelly won't see any reduction in his minutes (he doesn't deserve a reduction either). Flitting between full-back and midfield will serve both Lewis-Skelly and Arsenal.

Loser #2 - Viktor Gyokeres

In a rare start for the Sweden international, Gyokeres failed to capitalise. In his third start of the season, Gyokeres is still yet to get on the score sheet.

He did little to harm Arsenal, but he also did nothing to suit them, either. He is at the stage now where he needs to start making a point - we have seen that he's capable of scoring goals with Sweden, but he doesn' carry that over to Arsenal.

Winner #2 - Jurrien Timber

It was awesome to see Jurrien Timber pick up his first Champions League appearance of the season, no less from a starting position.

What was even better was seeing him break the deadlock

Loser #3 - Mikel Merino

Mikel Merino needed minutes, but tonight Arsenal saw the repercussions of not starting him. He looked awfully slow in possession, and whenever he was involved in any semblance of build up play, Arsenal looked like a halted team because of it.

Subbed off after 65 minutes, it's a surprise he even lasted that long.

Winner #3 - Bukayo Saka

Just a minute after coming on, Saka did what Noni Madueke was trying to do all night by playing a low cross into Eberechi Eze. Arsenal were, unsurprisingly, a much better team with Saka in it.

Winner #4 - Declan Rice

Not that Declan Rice needs to prove anything, but tonight was another game where you watched Rice and thought, 'wow, does this guy ever get tired?'

Rice was Arsenal's biggest winner from the summer transfer window, and the fact that he's being rested even more this season means he can run the extra mile on nights like this. Right until his final involvement, he was making gut-busting runs. Phenomenal.

Winner #5 - David Raya

Had nothing to do, but after back-to-back games without a clean sheet, it was great to see him getting one again.

Winner #6 - Bruno Guimaraes

The rest of this list was in no particular order, but I had to save the best until last. Bruno Guimaraes saw both sides of this game - before and after Mikel Arteta made the game-changing subs. Throughout it all, Bruno was the same character, and he never lost hope.

His first 90 minutes in an Arsenal shirt, and undeniably his best performance yet.

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