Arsenal eased past FC Vorskla on Thursday, with a 4-2 scoreline that ended up flattering the visitors, if anything.
Unai Emery picked a fairly strong side to ensure the win in Arsenal’s opening Europa League fixture, making it four victories in a row in all competitions. It took a while for the team to get going, as many didn’t seem to be on the same wavelength. Once the first goal went in though, the game opened up and the Gunners never looked in trouble.
Vorskla got a couple of very late goals, but even then the feeling was more disappointment than fear the away side might actually come back into the game.
Let’s have a look at how the individual players did on the night.
4Substitutes
Mesut Özil 8.5
As soon as Özil stepped onto the pitch, the quality of Arsenal’s play seemed to go up. Immediately he was involved in a beautiful one-touch move down the right-hand side which should’ve resulted in a goal. A few minutes later the German had a goal of his own.
Unfortunately, the rest of the team then went to sleep and his impressive play was mostly wasted.
Matteo Guendouzi 7
If I’m being ultra-critical, Guendouzi was the player who should’ve picked up Sharpar for the second goal. He was too worried about what was going on behind him to see the real danger coming from midfield. Other than that, the youngster did well, as he has done for most of the campaign so far.
Emile Smith Rowe 8
This was an exciting, if brief, debut appearance from Arsenal’s highly rated 18-year-old. He took on players with ease, as he always does, and linked up well with his teammates. Certainly a lot more to come from the youngster.