No Alexis Sanchez? No problem. Arsenal registered their first win of 2018 with a resounding performance as they wrecked Crystal Palace 4-1, with all four goals coming in the opening 22 minutes. We have seldom seen such a start from the Gunners in recent times with Arsene Wenger’s boys typically known for their slow start to games. But they came out all guns blazing and Wenger will demand more such performances in the business end of the season.
Here are the Arsenal FC player ratings –
Petr Cech: 7/10
He stood tall and calm whenever called upon. Not much to do otherwise and unlucky not to have registered his 200th clean sheet.
Hector Bellerin: 7/10
Barely put a foot wrong and attacked with intent by providing good width.
Laurent Koscielny: 9/10
Back in form and solid while guarding his goal. Koscielny always seemed to have the last man covered and was spot-on with his tackling. Got on the scoresheet too!
Shkodran Mustafi: 8.5/10
He cleared the ball extremely well and won over nine aerial battles.
Nacho Monreal: 9/10
Unfortunate to have limped off but was devastating in his time on the pitch. Scored a goal and provided two more, this was a vintage attacking fullback display.
Mohamed Elneny: 6/10
Sat back and defended neatly. However, he could have been the guilty party for a trip on Wilfried Zaha.
Granit Xhaka: 7.5/10
Superb with set pieces and passing, which has gotten better with each performance.
Jack Wilshere: 9/10
A master class! Wilshere played a huge part in the fourth goal, took on players and eased his way past them. He bossed the midfield and allowed playmakers like Özil to play further up the pitch.
Alex Iwobi: 8/10
Very energetic, worked hard for the ball and was always on the move. His direct nature of attack caused a lot of problems for Palace.
Mesut Özil: 9/10
Özil was everywhere on the pitch, advanced and creative. He set up the fourth goal and found his inch-perfect passing rhythm going.
Alexandre Lacazette: 8/10
Much livelier and energetic. Lacazette’s movement got better after his goal and he scored sweetly after a thrilling team play.
Substitutes –
Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 6/10
One poor mistake that almost set the Eagles free but kept Zaha under wraps for the most part after coming off the bench.
Reiss Nelson: 5/10
Failed to dribble past opponents and never managed to set it up for himself. But congratulations on the debut!
Sead Kolasinac: 6/10
Played high up the pitch with freedom and kept the flow of the attack going, down the left-hand side.