Arsenal played out a comfortable but lacklustre 1-0 victory over Qarabag on Thursday, in the dead rubber game at the end of the Europa League group stage.

Neither team had anything to play for in midweek, with Arsenal already qualified for the knockout stages as group winners and Qarabag already out of the competition. However, there was still pride on the line, the chance to keep Unai Emery’s unbeaten run going, and an opportunity for some young/returning players to impress.

Alexandre Lacazette gave the team an early lead, and it remained 1-0 for the rest of the 90 minutes. Let’s have a look at our individual player ratings for the performance.

Goalkeeper and Defence

Emi Martinez 7

This was Martinez’s first game of the season, as the 26-year-old has had to play second fiddle to both Bernd Leno and Petr Cech so far. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the best game for him to prove his credentials, with Qarabag failing to test the goalkeeper’s shot-stopping on a single occasion.

There was one slightly shaky moment when Martinez came out for a corner and didn’t win the ball, but it didn’t result in anything. His passing was excellent throughout, particularly when he played the ball straight to a midfielder’s feet to bypass Qarabag’s press on a couple of occasions.

Carl Jenkinson 7

Like most of the rest of the defence, Jenkinson really didn’t have too much to do defensively, particularly as Qarabag attacked down the other side of the pitch more regularly.

On the ball he was fine, but he seemed extremely hesitant to put crosses in, preferring to pass it backwards instead. Perhaps this is a confidence issue, after his crosses in recent matches were less than impressive. He needs to keep taking chances though.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos 7.5

Again, there wasn’t too much for Sokratis to do in defence, but he did make a couple of interceptions and win his only attempted tackle.

One thing we spotted during the match was his insistence on always taking a touch before making a pass, something which wasn’t the case for his centre-back partner Laurent Koscielny. It wasn’t a major issue on a night like Thursday, but he needs to speed things up if Arsenal want to play out from the back regularly.

Laurent Koscielny 8

As mentioned, Koscielny’s passing was a lot quicker, but also more accurate. He didn’t misplace a single pass in his 72 minutes on the pitch.

The Arsenal captain’s joy at coming through his first senior appearance in 7 months was obvious as he punched the air and grinned his way off the pitch. It’s great to have him back, though there are harsher tests to come.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles 8

Maitland-Niles started the game at left-back, and he was the only defender who was involved in a large number of defensive actions. He made four tackles and three interceptions, more than any other defender in both cases.

However, some of those interceptions and tackles came after the substitutions when the England u21 international moved forward to the right-wing. That was his best spell of the game, as he looked dangerous and linked up with teammates well. Emery may well consider giving him another chance there.

Click ‘Next’ for Midfield, Forwards and Substitutes

Midfield

Joe Willock 7

This wasn’t quite as impressive as Willock’s goalscoring performance in Ukraine, but he did do a lot of hard work for the team defensively. Only Eddie Nketiah matched his game-high five tackles, no one won as many aerials, and the midfielder played a few nice passes too. He did lose the ball and get dribbled past on a couple of occasions though.

Mohamed Elneny 6.5

Elneny didn’t make any major mistakes, but he was guilty of playing it a bit too safe once again. When playing against the likes of Qarabag, he has to be looking for a killer pass more often than he does. Either that or step up his defensive duties significantly, so his midfield partner can feel free to move up the pitch and do it for him.

No one saw the ball more than Elneny, and his passing was very accurate, it just never seemed to lead to anything.

Mesut Özil 8

Özil was back in the team for the first time in a couple of weeks, and he created chances for fun as usual. His four key passes totalled three more than anyone else on the pitch. Most importantly, one of those opportunities resulted in a goal for Alexandre Lacazette.

Despite creating more than anyone else in the squad this season, this was only the German’s second assist of the campaign. Hopefully, many more will follow now. Özil also had a number of nice dribbles, with his trademark shoulder drop catching Qarabag players out on a few occasions.

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Forwards

Bukayo Saka 8.5

Saka was Arsenal’s man of the match without a doubt, making his debut at the Emirates Stadium. The winger who only turned 17 in September, and only made his u23 debut in August, was the team’s bright spark in attack for much of the match.

It took a little while for the youngster to grow into the game, but once he figured out how to beat his man, he was in behind almost every time. His total of eight dribbles completed was twice the nearest competitor.

On another night, the academy star would’ve had both a goal and an assist, but he looked a little nervous as his shot was saved in a one-on-one, and his cross for Nketiah’s goal was ruled out for offside against the 19-year-old. Saka scores those chances and makes those assists regularly for the u23s, so they’ll come for the senior team soon.

Eddie Nketiah 8

Nketiah was forced to play out wide for much of this match, but he did a decent enough job of it. His ‘dribbles completed’ was second only to Saka, and it was his pass that should’ve led to the 17-year-old scoring his first senior goal. The young striker also made the joint-most tackles in the match, taking his defensive responsibilities seriously.

Alexandre Lacazette 8

Lacazette had a quieter game than Saka or Nketiah, but he still showed some very nice touches when he did get involved in the game and finished his one chance without any trouble.

It wasn’t an easy angle, and he had to make space for himself to shoot, but we know by now that he’s excellent at doing just that. There was no way the Premier League were taking away this goal!

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Substitutes

Zech Medley 7.5

Medley came on at left-back, a bit of an unfamiliar position for him, considering he usually plays in the centre of defence. The 6’4″ 18-year-old still got a chance to showcase his fantastic passing range with a couple of long crossfield balls, and he brought the ball forward nicely as well.

Nacho Monreal 7

Monreal came on at centre-back with 18 minutes to go, but Qarabag were still offering little more offensive threat than throughout the rest of the game. The Spaniard’s introduction was really just to give Koscielny a break. He made one tackle, and a number of passes, but wasn’t really tested.

Charlie Gilmour 7

It was just a cameo appearance at the end of the game for Gilmour, and he had no trouble fitting into a largely academy-based team by that stage. He completed all six of his attempted passes in the final minutes.