Arsene Wenger will be pleased with his team’s performance at the Emirates as they beat the Red of Manchester in a convincing manner. Alexis Sanchez made merry as the United defense had no answer to his movers. Louis van Gaal was left disappointed as he was not able to claim even a point from the game.
Let’s take a look at the Player ratings for this match
Arsenal:
Petr Cech (3.5): Made two important saves at crucial times to keep Arsenal ahead. Was commanding in the air inside his box.
Hector Bellerin (3): The Spaniard did extremely well against the likes of Memphis Depay in defense. He also provided the width needed for Arsenal going forward.
Per Mertesacker (3): Was troubled at times with the pace of the United attack especially Martial. But saw the danger and did not allow his goal to be breached.
Gabriel (3): Was aggressive as usual in his defense and gave his center backs plenty of support at the back.
Nacho Monreal (3.5): Kept the United midfielders quite for most of the game as he dictated play on left-flank.
Francis Coquelin (3): Provided great cover to the Arsenal back four as he never gave any space to the United attackers.
Santi Cazorla (3.5): Exceptional awareness from the Spaniard saw him perform really well both in attack and in defense.
Aaron Ramsey (3): should have scored a volley from close range but was full of energy all throughout the game.
Mesut Ozil (3.5): Bagged an assist and a goal and was at the heart of everything good that was happening in front of United’s goal. A great game on the whole.
Alexis Sanchez (4.5): Scored two sublime goals and troubled Darmian who was benched because of him. Was unplayable at times and is the man of the match in this game.
Theo Walcott (3.5): Used his pace to great effect and unsettled the United back line making run after a run behind the defenses. Provided the assist for Ozil’s goal.
SUBS:
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (3)
Olivier Giroud (2.5)
Kieran Gibbs (3)
Manchester United:
David de Gea (2.5): Could have done better to stop Sanchez’ first goal but was a mere spectator for the next two.
Matteo Darmian (1.5): Was literally shattered by the presence of Alexis Sanchez who left him high and dry almost every time he had the ball. Was replaced at half-time by Valencia.
Chris Smalling (2.5): Stood tall for most of Arsenal’s attacks but could not do much to prevent them from scoring.
Daley Blind (2): Was constantly troubled by Walcott’s pace and needs to work on his positioning at Centre back.
Ashley Young (2): Played as a wing back and could not really have an impact on the game when United were on the attack.
Michael Carrick (1.5): Rarely provided any cover to the back four as the likes of Ozil and Cazorla just breezed past him at times.
Bastian Schweinsteiger (2): Did almost nothing sitting in a deep role. Was ineffective with his distribution when he had he ball.
Juan Mata (2): Found it hard to cope with the home team pressing high up. Rarely found any space and could not affect the game.
Memphis Depay (1.5): A poor performance on the flank as he rarely troubled Bellerin. Was a mere spectator for most of the game before being subbed off.
Wayne Rooney (2): The United skipper rarely troubled the Arsenal defense. He was poor with his touch and his passing and led his team down when they needed him.
Anthony Martial (2): Forced a great save from Cech early on but failed to create a telling impact on the game.
SUBS:
Antonio Valencia (2.5)
Marouane Fellaini (2)
James Wilson (2)