Arsenal managed to grind out a victory over Cardiff City on Tuesday night, but it wasn’t as easy as it should’ve been for Unai Emery’s side.

Arsenal really struggled in the first half of their Premier League clash, and either team could have been in the lead at the break. Though things did improve after that, with a change in formation and the introduction of a couple of substitutes, it still wasn’t vintage Arsenal in the second half either.

Nonetheless, The Gunners got the job done, scoring twice before Cardiff pulled one back with a very late consolation goal.

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

3Forwards

Mesut Özil 7.5

Özil made a good return to the starting eleven after previous absences through injury or Unai Emery’s team selection. He was Arsenal’s most influential player in the final third and created a couple of chances, whilst also tracking back to make a few tackles as well.
The 30-year-old did also slip up once or twice, as you’d expect from someone who has played so little recently, and he ended up coming off with 15 minutes to go. Nonetheless, the majority of his performance was very solid.

Alexandre Lacazette 9

Lacazette put in another excellent team performance and kept his good run of goal contributions going. The Frenchman has now scored or assisted in six of his last seven starts. On this occasion, he got his goal despite letting Aubameyang take Arsenal’s penalty.

The 27-year-old killed the game with his clinical finish in the 83rd minute, taking advantage of the fact he wasn’t subbed off, for once.

The striker also created a couple of chances and should have had at least one penalty. The first time, he stayed on his feet and Mike Dean waved the appeal away. The second time, he went down and Mike Dean waved it away. It’s hard to blame Lacazette anymore, considering he doesn’t get the decision regardless of what he does.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 7.5

Aubameyang’s overall performance was decent, but it was made to look better than it was thanks to a goal and an assist he was a little lucky to get. The goal was from the penalty spot, and it was confidently taken. The assist was a short pass around the halfway line where Lacazette did all the work to beat a couple of players and score.

The striker could have scored another but for a very good save by Cardiff goalkeeper Neil Etheridge. Still, it seems he’s lacking a bit of confidence in one-on-one opportunities at the moment. Hopefully, he scores one at the weekend and gets back to his best.

Click ‘Next’ for Substitutes