Arsenal responded to a Europa League loss in France to Rennes with a good performance against rivals Manchester United as they beat them 2-0 to reclaim the fourth spot in the league table.
Granit Xhaka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were the goalscorers for the Gunners, who had to defend very well to deny United from scoring.
After quite an open start to the game where Romelu Lukaku had a great chance to score but only managed to hit the bar, Arsenal took the lead through Xhaka in the 12th minute.
The Swiss international received the ball in space and had a pop at goal. David de Gea lost sight of the ball, went the wrong way and couldn’t recover in time.
From that time until the second Arsenal goal, United had very presentable opportunities to equalise, especially for Lukaku. However, the Belgian was indecisive in front of goal.
The Gunners defended well, throwing bodies on the line, and Bernd Leno also made few good saves.
Then, 20 minutes from time, Fred fouled Alexandre Lacazette in the box and Aubameyang converted the subsequent spot-kick.
It was a good display from Unai Emery’s men, who are now fourth in the table and have a good chance of catching Tottenham Hotspur in third.
Here’s how we rated their players today:
Bernd Leno - 8
The German made two notably good saves to deny Lukaku. His handling and kicking, in general, was spot on.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles - 7
Struggled at times while defending but kept grinding. Tried his best to deny easy crosses being played into the box.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos - 8
While he was the Arsenal villain on Thursday, the Greek international was certainly the hero at the back today.
Laurent Koscielny - 8
Made some good tackles in the box and put his body on the line to block the shots towards goal.
Nacho Monreal - 7
The Spaniard was solid at the back and made one important block.
Sead Kolasinac - 7
Went forward and delivered some cracking balls into the box. Defended well when required.
Granit Xhaka - 8
Scored the opener and carried the midfield battle for the Gunners. He was the only defensive midfielder in the team and protected the back-line very well.
Aaron Ramsey - 7
A disciplined performance from Ramsey, who was playing in a slightly deeper role today. Back-to-back impressive displays from the Welshman in the league.
Mesut Ozil - 7
The former German international wasn’t at his fluent best but worked hard for the team without the ball. He is slowly getting back into Emery’s plans. He was subbed off for Alex Iwobi.
Alexandre Lacazette - 8
Led the line well and showed good strength to hold the ball when required. Won the penalty in the second half that proved to be a decisive moment in the game. Subbed off for Eddie Nketiah later on.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 7
Still looks a bit short on confidence but that would have been bolstered when he stepped up to take the penalty and scored it. Subbed off for Denis Suarez.
(SUB) Alex Iwobi - 6
Injected pace on the left-hand side and pressed well off the ball. He is a man in form.
(SUB) Denis Suarez - 6
Showed some good footwork with the ball to fashion one chance on the counter.