Arsenal’s 3-2 victory over Swansea wasn’t easy but thanks to goals from Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil, we did it.

In hindsight, it’s probably a good sign that we had certain players who are usually solid not at their best, such as Nacho Monreal, but we still managed to win. Even after getting unfairly reduced to 10-men.

Here’s how each player got on.

Petr Cech – 6

The goalkeeper didn’t have a lot to do but when he was faced with Gylfi Sigurðsson’s shot, he didn’t even bother diving. Then, a minute later, his poor clearance almost led to an equaliser.

Towards the end, he did pull off a couple of important saves though.

Hector Bellerin – 7.5

The right-back managed to peel away from his marker to get himself in enough space to header an assist for Theo Walcott’s goal. He generally had a decent game.

Shkodran Mustafi – 8

The centreback almost scored but the header delivered by a Mesut Ozil corner hit the bar. He prevented a second Swansea goal from Gylfi Sigurðsson in the first half by closing him down quickly, keeping tight to his man and forcing him to kick the ball out for a goal kick.

Laurent Koscielny – 7.5

The centreback was as solid as ever and got us out of a few scrapes.

Nacho Monreal – 6

Although he wasn’t completely terrible, he switched off for Swansea’s second goal.

Santi Cazorla – 7.5

As usual, the midfielder was instrumental to almost everything. He was at the heart of every movement, controlling the game. The vision for some of his passes, particularly out right, was sublime and he made it look as easy as breathing.

Granit Xhaka – 6

The midfielder playing the ball forward from deep was crucial, especially for Theo’s second goal. However, he gave away the ball to Gylfi Sigurðsson for Swansea’s first goal and got sent off due to a cynical challenge. Although it shouldn’t have been a red as it was on the halfway line and we see those go unpunished all the time, it wasn’t good.

Even so, hopefully we appeal it.

Mesut Ozil – 8

The birthday boy scored an absolutely stunning goal to put Arsenal 3-1 ahead. A close-range volley into the top of the net. Unreal. Before this, he’d been his usual self, pulling off passes that most footballers can only dream of and making it look like it’s nothing.

Alex Iwobi – 7

The 20-year-old tried to be a bit too clever at times, with a backheel in the first half going awry. However, he didn’t have a bad game by any means. In the second half especially he was fantastic, exhibiting fancy footwork to set Theo up for what could (and should) have been a third goal.

Theo Walcott – 7.5

The forward scored yet again. Although his first goal looked scrappy at first, when seen from a different angle it was actually a brilliant, instinctual finish. He went on the score a second but found it impossible for some reason to complete his hattrick. Unlucky, Theo.

Alexis Sanchez – 7

Swansea crowded the forward from the outset and while he never hid, he did misplace a few balls. His lack of sharpness could just be because he played for Chile during the week and hasn’t had a proper chance to rest.

His assist in which he picked Ozil out from a cross perfectly was lovely and he never stopped hunting for a goal. The guy has so much energy, it’s unreal.

SUBS

Francis Coquelin – 5

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – N/A

Kieran Gibbs – N/A