BUKAYO SAKA ran the show as Arsenal beat Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The England star grabbed a goal and an assist as Mikel Arteta’s side cruised to a 2-0 victory over their Spanish opponents.
Arsenal are now on the brink of qualification for the last 16 with two group stage matches remaining.
Although there was a blow as Saka hobbled off injured, whilst Ben White also lacked urgency in North London.
Here is how SunSport’s Isabelle Barker rated the performances of the Arsenal players at the Emirates Stadium.
David Raya – 7
The Spanish stopper didn’t have much to do in either half but was calm and composed throughout.
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He mopped up the damage when Mariano Diaz nearly set up a goal for the visitors in the second-half.
Ben White – 6
He sometimes lacked urgency and pressure on the ball. There was lots of overlapping with no real end product.
There were social media shouts for him to be hauled off at half-time instead of Tomiyasu.
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William Saliba – 8
A brilliant performance at centre-back to show why he is currently one of the best defenders in not only the Premier League but also Europe.
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He produced a jaw-dropping tackle by sliding in to take the ball off Adria Pedrosa who was bursting towards goal. It was a crucial tackle to stifle one of the only glimpses of the visitors’ attacking threat.
Gabriel – 7
The defender headed wide a free header from Saka’s corner – wasting a peach of a chance for the Gunners early on. Solid defensively though.
Takehiro Tomiyasu – 6
Japan’s Tomiyasu was solid before coming off at half-time for Zinchenko but did give the ball away sloppily before the break.
Declan Rice – 8
Ex-West Ham Rice looked every inch of the £105million player that Arsenal bought him for. He rarely puts a foot wrong and is so influential in midfield.
Jorginho – 8
The Italian midfielder produced a beautiful through ball to unlock the Sevilla defence to reach Saka for the opener.
Without that peach of a pass the Gunners wouldn’t have broken the deadlock.
Kai Havertz – 6
Once again Havertz missed an absolute sitter with a header three yards from goal less than a minute in. It proved once again that he isn’t clinical enough.
Bukayo Saka – 10
Take a bow Saka. It was no surprise when he assisted Trossard’s opener with a cracking pass given that he was the beating heart of nearly every promising Gunners attack tonight.
He produced an inch-perfect free-kick delivery early on but no one could make the crucial touch and constantly made a nuisance of himself throughout.
Clearly he and Trossard are a match made in heaven, with the winger assisting all five of the Belgian’s goals this season.
Made it 2-0 with a blistering run, cut back and redhot finish for his 44th Gunners goal at just 22-years-old.
Gabriel Martinelli – 9
Martinelli’s driving runs down the left wreaked havoc for Sevilla and he had Juanlu on toast, running him ragged. He even ran around him twice at one point.
Sadly there was no Gunners striker to bury the many chances he created but he did produce a lovely link up with Saka for the second goal.
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Leandro Trossard – 9
Buried a tap-in for the opener with an ice-cool finish to make it five goals across all competitions this season. Lively after the break too.
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Oleksandr Zinchenko – 8
Injected pace and creativity when he came on and nearly made it 3-0 with a rasping Volley on 65 minutes.
Reiss Nelson – 6
Jakub Kiwior – 6
Fabio Vieira – 6
Mohamed Elneny – 6
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
