Arsenal thumped Burnley on Sunday to ensure Arsene Wenger’s 606th and final home game as manager ended in the best way possible.

The match

Burnley didn’t stand a chance.

They might have went into this game only three points behind Arsenal, but with the Gunners imperious home form and Arsene Wenger’s farewell on the horizon, it was always highly unlikely they would pull off an upset.

Hailed for their defence, Burnley have conceded 37 goals in the league this season.

Arsenal, meanwhile, spent the last few weeks working out how to break down Atletico Madrid’s defence in the Europa League.

Sean Dyche and his men had no hope on Sunday.

So how did the Arsenal players do individually?

Defence

Petr Cech 7

Had nothing at all to do in the first half but was called into action twice within the first five minutes of the second. Nothing too taxing, but that doesn’t always guarantee an Arsenal goalkeeper will do what’s required.

Sead Kolasinac 8

Heavily involved as Arsenal attacked and his goal was an absolute thunderbastard into the far corner.

Calum Chambers 7.5

Deservedly handed another start after his impressive display on Thursday night, and did well again. Tracked his runner well and raised even more questions over Shkodran Mustafi’s place in the starting lineup.

Kostaninos Mavropanos 7.5

When I did my predicted XI for this game I also included a ‘preferred XI’ and Dinos started so I was delighted to see the young Hulk get the nod for this game. How much does he not only look like a centreback but play like one as well? Not afraid to come out with the ball and look for an incisive pass, this kid looks like the real deal.

Hector Bellerin 8

Saw much less of the ball than Kolasinac on the other side initially but it was his run that helped Arsenal open the scoring and that kick started more fruitful attacks down that side. It was his assist for Arsenal’s second and fifth.

Midfield

Granit Xhaka 7.5

Was involved in most things with his full range of passing on display and managed to dislocate Ashley Barnes shoulder with his own. Recorded a 94.4% pass completion rate making that song about him always giving the ball away sound even more stupid. No other player passed the ball more and only Per Mertesacker recorded a higher success rate. And no, they weren’t all sideways or backwards passes.

Jack Wilshere 7.5

Seemed busy without having any real impact in the first half but the second was a different matter. His shimmy took him past Jack Cork before he played in Kolasinac to make it three. Had taken control of the game by the scruff by the time he was replaced by Aaron Ramsey.

Alex Iwobi 8.5

Lively and involved of much of Arsenal’s attacking play, his delightfully delayed pass to Lacazette allowed the Frenchman to play in Auba to open the scoring. He also got the pre-assist for Arsenal’s second and grew into the game as it went on, showing strength and determination. Often criticised for his finishing, he absolutely buried Arsenal’s fourth.

Attack

Henrikh Mkhitaryan 8.5

Blazed one over on the volley, curled one just wide of the post and generally made a right nuisance of himself all afternoon. One of Arsenal’s standout players on the day making it even more inexplicable that he didn’t start on Thursday night.

…if you have access to the match highlights, go look around the 12m30sec mark for the cheekiest reverse flick to Wilshere on the edge of the Arsenal box as he helped his side defend. Superb and missed by the entire commentary team.

Alexandre Lacazette 9

Was he shooting? Was he crossing? Does it matter? No, it does not. Showed great control to take the ball mid-air on the turn. Looked sharp, showed some great lay-offs and awareness of his teammates around him. He made two before getting a goal his overall game deserved. Was replaced by Danny Welbeck with 19 to go despite his record for scoring late in games before he arrived at Arsenal.

Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang 9

Starting the Arsenal move that resulted in the first goal, Auba’s poachers instincts were on full display, as was his teamwork as he assisted Iwobi. Arsenal’s fifth was described by the comms as a ‘tap in’ but it was an instinctive finish from a natural goalscorer. That’s eight goals and four assists in 11 Premier League matches and more evidence that Lacazette and Aubameyang can not only play together but they can excel.

Subs

Aaron Ramsey 6

Didn’t really get into the game when he came on with just under 20 minutes to go but still managed a shot on target.

Danny Welbeck 6.5

Almost broke the goal when he cannoned one off the post on the half volley.

Per Mertesacker 10

It’s the BFG, innit. Came on to a hero’s welcome and every touch was cheered. What a man.

Crowd

Right after talking about the crowd singing about Patrick Vieira, the comms criticised the crowd for being quiet for much of the afternoon. They weren’t. They came through loud and clear.