Arsenal picked up yet another win in their trip to Azerbaijan on Thursday, defeating Qarabag 3-0.

It wasn’t necessarily the best performance from Arsenal at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, but it didn’t need to be. The Gunners took their chances well, and Bernd Leno made sure defensive slip-ups weren’t punished. Three more points in the bag, eight wins in a row, top of the group, it’s all going pretty well in terms of results.

Let’s have a look at our individual ratings for this match.

Goalkeeper and Centre-backs

Bernd Leno 9

Perhaps controversially, I’d have Leno as Arsenal’s man of the match. There were other good performers, but Leno’s saves were top quality and came at crucial points in the match. Let just one of them in and you never know how the scoreline could’ve ended up.

Nacho Monreal 7

Monreal had a decent first half, overall. In general, he was solid enough at the back, with one or two exceptions. He linked up with his teammates well and assisted the first goal. Unfortunately, then he was sacrificed in the second period so Emery could change the system. It was probably for the best anyway, with Fulham at the weekend.

Rob Holding 7

This wasn’t quite the stand-out performance we saw from Holding at the weekend, but a good showing nonetheless. He adapted well enough to the two systems employed by Emery.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos 7.5

Probably the best performer of Arsenal’s back three, but like Holding it wasn’t his most assured showing of the season. Sokratis took his early goal well, which helped settle the nerves and open the game up a bit.

Midfield and Wing-backs

Stephan Lichtsteiner 6

Lichtsteiner still hasn’t had a game where he really announces himself to the Arsenal fans. He looked a bit isolated on the right and struggled to create anything going forward. Still, he showed his usual fight. Hopefully, this is just an adaptation period.

Sead Kolasinac 7.5

Unlike Lichtsteiner, Kolasinac created a lot, really enjoying the wing-back position. He made more chances than any other Arsenal player, getting forward very effectively. Only Iwobi completed more dribbles. At the same time, Kolasinac did leave some spaces in behind, but he wasn’t punished.

Matteo Guendouzi 7.5

Guendouzi got his first Arsenal goal, taking a late chance to kill the game off well. His passing was as accurate as usual, without being particularly spectacular on this occasion. The Frenchman spent more time on the ball than anyone and did well enough with it.

Mohamed Elneny 7

Elneny created a couple of chances, but they were really just from his set pieces. Other than that it was a typical game from the Egyptian, playing very safe in possession and making a couple of defensive actions as well. Nothing too inspiring.

Forwards

Alex Iwobi 8.5

Iwobi continues to go from strength-to-strength at the moment. He looks full of confidence and ready to take on any challenge in front of him. The academy graduate set up another academy boy for the second goal, which topped off a very forward-thinking performance.

Only Kolasinac made more chances for Arsenal, with the pair proving very effective together on the left.

Emile Smith Rowe 8

Smith Rowe always looks like he can beat a player or two, regardless of the pressure he’s under. All he needs is to find the right pass afterwards. Whilst it took a while for him to grow into that side of the game, he found his feet eventually and started to prove his worth.

As for the goal, his first for the senior side, it was excellently taken. A very composed finish. Hopefully, the first of many.

Danny Welbeck 7

Welbeck pressed well and worked as hard as he always does, but wasn’t quite as effective in the box on this occasion. He could’ve grabbed himself a goal late on and will be disappointed not to have done so.

Substitutes

Lucas Torreira 7

Nothing particularly spectacular from Torreira. He allowed Emery to change the system at half-time, shielded the back four well enough, and was comfortable in possession.

Mesut Özil 7

Özil got a fantastic reception from the fans in the Olympic Stadium and did well in the build-up to the third goal. He wasted a good chance with a strange cutback though, there were better options.

Alexandre Lacazette 8

Lacazette spent less than 20 minutes on the pitch and created two key chances. The one for Guendouzi was a half-chance but resulted in a goal. The one for Welbeck was laid on a plate and the Englishman blasted over. Funny how that happens sometimes.

The 27-year-old did what he came on to do, finishing off any lingering Qarabag hopes and hopefully heading home with a lot in the tank for Fulham.