ARSENAL stunned Manchester United with a driven, organised display on Monday night to seal a 2-0 victory.
Goals from Nicolas Pepe and Sokratis Papastathopoulos earned Mikel Arteta a maiden win as Gunners boss and indeed as a manager.
Mikel Arteta celebrated his first win as a manager as Arsenal beat Manchester UnitedCredit: Getty – Contributor
With the team ethic now evident in how the Spaniard wants his Arsenal side to play, there was still space for some individuals to shine.
Here, Marc Mayo rates and slates the winning team’s performances for SunSport.
BERND LENO – 7/10
An important bounce back from Sunday’s catastrophic error versus Chelsea, the German was once again calm and made his saves look comfortable.
AINSLEY MAITLAND-NILES – 7
A mature performance where the winger-turned-defender didn’t expose himself like he has been prone to.
SOKRATIS PAPASTATHOPOULOS – 8
A muted celebration to his goal showed how the centre-back loves to defend, first and foremost. And that he did with aplomb, allowed to get stuck in and use his size to his advantage – whereas before it felt like it got in the way of how he was told to play.
DAVID LUIZ – 7
A touch loose on the ball at times but otherwise a very solid outing for the defender.
Sokratis scored one and played a key role in ensuring the Arsenal back line remained solidCredit: Reuters
SEAD KOLASINAC – 8
Back from injury, the Bosnian was the sort of all-action, composed figure Arteta must have dreamt of when formulating his game plan. Strong in defence and composed in attack, he set up the opener but was forced off injured after an hour.
GRANIT XHAKA – 7
Like Luiz, Xhaka didn’t try to do too much and came off better for it. Maybe he was ill on Sunday after all…
LUCAS TORREIRA – 8
Outstanding in the tackle, the Uruguayan proved why he is a vital asset to Arsenal going forward. Played through injury in the second-half to emphasise how his attitude is a major asset.
NICOLAS PEPE – 7
A smartly taken goal almost doubled up on with a fierce effort that smacked the post, the winger looked confident in a somewhat rare start. But he lacks any ability to hold the ball up and this put his team in danger when protecting the lead.
MESUT OZIL – 7
Worked hard off the ball, for a change. The German struggled as the game went on a touch with a lack of willing in actually putting a foot on the ball and calming things down.
PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG – 6
Bust a gut to get forward but wasn’t quite as interested in getting back to defend – begging the question why he is continued to be used out wide? Not his night in attack, either.
ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE – 5
Not quite the focal point Arsenal needed on Monday night as he continued to look a yard off his usual self. Oddly chose to take a close-range finish with a left-footed toe poke in the first-half to sum up how he has lost his touch in front of goal.
Alexandre Lacazette looked out of sorts from his usual prolific selfCredit: Reuters
SUBS: REISS NELSON – 5
Quiet after coming on, unable to match the energy of his teammates.
BUKAYO SAKA – 6
Marshalled the left flank well enough after Kolasinac did such a good job.
MATTEO GUENDOUZI – N/A
Ex-Arsenal boss Unai Emery says he wanted to play Özil with Aubameyang and Lacazette – but struggled to fit them into a team
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
