By Alfie Cairns Culshaw (Editor)
Leno 6- Commanded his box excellently- this no longer appears to be the big issue in his game. Had no outstanding saves to make, but when called upon he was typically proficient. Decision making in his distribution still questionable.
Maitland-Niles 6- Struggled early on, looking typically carless rather than composed in possession. Grew into the game, linking up well with pepe on a few occasions and looking more at ease. Not overly tested defensively.
Chambers 7- Possibly sees an opportunity to assert himself in this position, and did this no harm yesterday with a solid defensive performance. Dealt with everything aerially and limited West Ham to very little, whilst tidy on the ball. Best of the back four.
Sokratis 6- Has had a difficult month or two, particularly in possession (and this was hardly improved upon last night), but looked much more at ease defensively, albeit against a poor outfit.
Tierney 5- Very hard to rate after being taken off very early after an unfortunate collision. Possibly out for a while with a shoulder injury.
Torreira 8- Exceptional last night. The sort of performance that got Arsenal fans so hyped up about the little Uruguayan last season. Typically tenacious, but positionally much more disciplined. Used the ball well and won it back on several occasions, preventing us from being hit on the transition.
Xhaka 6- Quite a mixed night for the Swiss. To some extent, a performance that you’d associate with him. Used the ball superbly at times, particularly in the period where we blitzed West Ham, but also had a number of sloppy passes which put us under pressure- most of which were typically inventive in theory, but poorly executed. Beaten too easily on their goal.
Pepe 8- A piece of individual, match-winning brilliance that you’d expect from a player you’ve paid £72 million for. Robben-esque, the Ivorian superbly cut inside and bent the ball into the top corner. Whilst the rest of his performance was mixed, with some nice turns and skills demonstrated, as well as some wasteful moments, it was his goal that really ignited the swagger in our play. Let’s hope he pushes on from him.
Ozil 7- Not as prominent in the first half as we’d have liked, if we did look like threatening, it looked like it would come through him picking the ball up in between the lines. Led the game for most passes in the final third by some way, which shows how instrumental he was in most of our good attacking play in the second half. Heavily involved in the second and third goals.
Martinelli 7- Scored the goal that began the 10-minute blitz, composedly slotting him after Kolasinac cut back to him. Not as involved on the ball as we’d have liked, but his goal and relentless work rate (made 20 high intensity sprints across the 90- 9 more than anyone else) made this a good performance.
Aubameyang 7- Largely anonymous in the first half, with a lack of service meaning he struggled and looked frustrated for long periods. However, he created our only chance in that first period for Ozil, and then was involved in our second and third goals, registering yet another goal and an assist.
Subs:
Kolasinac 6- A lot of praise for the Bosnian from large sections of the fanbase of late, but personally I’m not on this hype. Arsenal’s conservatism on the ball perfectly represented in Kolasinac’s use of it, and was certainly at fault for the Hammers’ goal. Offered little going forward, although credit where credit is due, he created the goal that got us going with a wonderful cut back.
Guendouzi 6- Typically tidy, contributing to our impressive ball retention in the latter stages.
Nelson n/a- Not enough time to rate.
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