After a terrible round-of-32 first leg against BATE Borisov made fans nervous of an early Europa League exit, Arsenal breezed through the second without any problems.

After a 1-0 defeat in Belarus, Arsenal knew they needed to score quickly to turn things around at the Emirates Stadium. Thankfully, Borisov were willing to help, with defender Zakhar Volkov turning the ball into his own net in the first five minutes.

Despite one scary moment when a deflected cross almost led to a goal before Stephan Lichtsteiner’s intervention, the away side very rarely threatened after that. Arsenal had all the chances, but the second and third goals ended up coming from unlikely sources, with Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos heading home.

The Gunners will now progress to the last-16, where it’s less likely they’ll be able to get away with such a disastrous first-leg performance.

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

Goalkeeper and Defence

Petr Cech 6

Cech really didn’t have much to do in this match. He made one save, and he was bailed out once by Lichtsteiner. His distribution was generally good, although he did kick the ball straight out of play at one point.

Stephan Lichtsteiner 8

Before the game, Arsenal fans on social media were berating Unai Emery for the inclusion of the Swiss international, who has been poor in recent matches. Funnily enough, he went on to have what was probably his best-ever game for the club.

As mentioned, his best moment was a clearance off the line to deny Borisov a vital away goal. He also created a couple of good chances and won five out of his six individual duels, so it was a good day all around. You could even forgive him for one bizarre attempt at a volley from outside the box.

Shkodran Mustafi 8

Mustafi had a really easy job defensively, as he didn’t even have to make a tackle throughout the 90 minutes. The one thing Arsenal did require from him was winning aerial duels when Borisov played long balls, which he did very effectively (88% success rate).

At the other end, Mustafi headed home a crucial second goal, getting ahead of the defender well and finding the target.

Laurent Koscielny 7

Koscielny had a very similar game to Mustafi, winning a lot of aerial duels but having to do very little else defensively. He ended up going off early in the second half, as Emery continues to be cautious with the centre-back after his recent return from injury.

Nacho Monreal 6.5

Monreal supported the attack well, but he did let Borisov players in behind him for one dangerous counter. That’s the risk you take as an Arsenal full-back, but it’s only worth it if you create a bit more than the Spaniard did. It was still a decent performance overall.

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Midfield

Matteo Guendouzi 7.5

Guendouzi put in a positive performance for 64 minutes, linking up with his teammates well and finding himself with a bit more freedom to make things happen in the final third. He perhaps could’ve done a little better in turning those opportunities into goals, but this was still a big improvement from last week.

Granit Xhaka 9

Xhaka was excellent, creating the joint-most chances of anyone on the team and completing 19 more passes than anyone else on the pitch. He ran the game, and he ended up making the difference for Arsenal with a couple of good deliveries from set-pieces leading to two goals, adding two assists to his personal tally.

The midfielder also forced a good save out of the Borisov keeper with a powerful shot from range, and he helped out well defensively. There’s no doubt the improvement in his performance was partly thanks to the formation change and Özil being back in the team though.

Mesut Özil 8

Özil’s return really gave Arsenal a boost. It allowed them to play a system they’re clearly more comfortable with, and he very noticeably helped Xhaka and Guendouzi by providing a consistent option ahead of them.

Although his individual performance dropped off a little towards the end, it was still very good overall. He created three chances, made more passes in the final third than anybody else and had one particularly nice volley that went narrowly over the crossbar. Let’s hope this is a new dawn for Emery and Özil at Arsenal.

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Forwards

Henrikh Mkhitaryan 7

Mkhitaryan’s performance divided opinion somewhat, as he clearly picked up a lot of good positions and created as many chances as anybody, but he also made a few of the same mistakes he’s been making all season.

If he could cut out some of the misplaced passes and stop slipping over when he gets free in the box, he’d become a key player in this side. He ended up coming off with just over 10 minutes to go.

Alex Iwobi 7.5

Iwobi made a few good opportunities for his teammates and saw one shot whistle just past the top corner. He was another player boosted by the change in formation and the return of Özil.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 7

There’s no way you can give Aubameyang all the credit for Borisov’s own goal in the early stages, but he definitely deserves some. It was his positive run and cross into a dangerous area that led to the mistake.

The striker had six shots after that, twice as many as anybody else, but it just wasn’t his night to get on the scoresheet. There’s a suggestion he needs to rediscover his goalscoring touch a bit.

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Substitutes

Sokratis Papastathopoulos 8

Sokratis made his return from injury with a bang, scoring a header just a few minutes after entering the pitch. The defender was only brought on to allow Koscielny to get some rest, so it was a welcome bonus to see him scoring to put the tie to bed.

He was in typically fiery form defensively as well, winning a couple of individual duels to recover the ball. It’s great to see him back.

Lucas Torreira 7

It was good to see Torreira and Xhaka back together in a midfield pair for the first time in a while, as that’s still the most successful pairing Arsenal have tried this season. The Uruguayan didn’t put a foot wrong after coming on, but nor was he involved in anything particularly eye-catching.

Denis Suarez 7.5

Suarez’s performances continue to improve with each substitute appearance he makes, and he looked a bit more positive on this occasion, taking players on and playing some quick passes. He actually completed as many dribbles in his 12 minutes as anyone else in the full 90. Perhaps he’ll get a start against Southampton.