Arsenal progressed to the Europa League quarter-final with a 3-0 win over Stade Rennais FC on Thursday, overturning a 3-1 defeat in the first leg of the tie.
Match Recap
Thanks to their one away goal in Rennes, Arsenal knew that a 2-0 victory would be enough to progress to the quarter-finals on Thursday night. With supporters prepared for a long 90 minutes trying to break their opposition down, it was rather surprising to see the Gunners find those two goals within 15 minutes.
First, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored from close range, set up by Aaron Ramsey. Then, the striker turned provider, crossing for Ainsley Maitland-Niles to head home his first goal at the Emirates Stadium.
After that, Rennes started to come back into the game, no longer having the motivation to stick 11 men behind the ball. However, in the second half, Aubameyang was the player to score the third of the game at the end of a nice team move.
As a result, Arsenal progressed 4-3 on aggregate. Let’s have a look at our individual player ratings for the match.
Petr Cech 7.5
Cech didn’t have half as much to do as in the first leg, as the Rennes players could hardly even keep themselves onside, let alone get a shot at goal. Nonetheless, he was called upon to make two saves, which he did. The goalkeeper got his fairytale clean sheet against his old club and ensured Arsenal’s three goals were enough to win.
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Shkodran Mustafi 5
Mustafi had a much busier game than the goalkeeper behind him, making nine clearances, three interceptions and blocking one shot. He also made one tackle and won five out of his six duels.
Yet for some reason, the German can’t get through 90 minutes without making a major mistake. Another error leading to a shot soured his performance, and his passing was also particularly poor throughout.
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Laurent Koscielny 7.5
Koscielny didn’t have any tackles of interceptions to make, but he did have to block a couple of shots and win a few aerial duels to help the team keep their clean sheet.
In contrast to Mustafi, the Frenchman’s passing was very good, with the highest accuracy of any Arsenal starter. It wasn’t a perfect performance though, as the 33-year-old only won four of his nine individual duels.
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Nacho Monreal 7.5
Monreal dealt with Ismaila Sarr very well once again, this time without being caught upfield right at the end of the match. The Spaniard made five interceptions, more than anyone else on the pitch, but like Mustafi, his distribution could’ve been better.
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Ainsley Maitland-Niles 8.5
Maitland-Niles was the key to Arsenal’s quick comeback. In the early stages, he opted against blindly lobbing the ball into the box, checking back and playing the ball to Ramsey’s feet in the box. That gave the Welshman the chance to set up Aubameyang’s opening goal.
After that, the 21-year-old took his goal (Arsenal’s second) very well, before mostly reverting to his defensive duties for the rest of the match. He was just as good in that regard, making a match-high five tackles and a couple of interceptions. The academy graduate is really coming into his own as a wing-back.
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Aaron Ramsey 8.5
A few loose passes aside, Ramsey had another great performance to match his showing at the weekend against Manchester United. The Welshman was in good form creatively, making three chances for his teammates, including for the opening goal.
He also provided some good defensive cover, though after Özil’s withdrawal he perhaps strayed a bit too far upfield. At that point, it was no surprise to see him replaced by Lucas Torreira, but for the important early part of the match, Ramsey did excellently.
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Granit Xhaka 7.5
Like Ramsey, Xhaka played a few stray passes, as Rennes cut off the midfield duo’s options pretty well. He created a couple of chances all the same, and his best work was on the defensive side, winning seven out of 11 duels, blocking two shots, making two interceptions and three tackles. That was crucial given the threat of an away goal.
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Sead Kolasinac 8
Kolasinac had a very solid showing, winning 75% of his individual duels and making a number of tackles, clearances and interceptions. His best moment came in the form of an assist for Aubameyang though, and he’s getting better and better at those low crosses in behind the defence.
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Mesut Özil 7
Özil was fairly subdued compared to some of his recent showings, but he kept a number of moves ticking over as usual. He also made a couple of tackles on the defensive side of things. Nonetheless, it wasn’t an overly-effective performance, and it was no real surprise to see him coming off with 20 minutes to go.
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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 9
Aubameyang’s efforts turned this tie back in Arsenal’s favour, and he aptly celebrated the comeback by pulling on a superhero mask. The striker’s movement was excellent, which meant the finishes for his two goals didn’t have to be, and he showed good alertness to set up Maitland-Niles’ goal.
This could’ve been an even higher-rated performance if the striker didn’t mess up a couple of chances at the end, but the three goals he contributed to were enough. Lacazette seems to have reignited his striker partner’s confidence with the penalty on Sunday, just as Aubameyang did for him with the penalty against Stoke last season.
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Alexandre Lacazette 6.5
Lacazette certainly worked hard for the 70 minutes he spent on the pitch. He made himself a nuisance and provided a welcome distraction to allow Aubameyang to find space for his goals.
The striker will be a little disappointed not to have found better chances of his own though, and his reckless first-half challenge put himself at unnecessary risk of another red card. A yellow was fair, but there was no reason to take that risk having just returned from suspension. Like Özil, it was no real surprise to see him substituted.
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Substitute 1 – Henrikh Mkhitaryan 7.5
Mkhitaryan was heavily involved in the move for the third goal, and he linked up really well with Aubameyang throughout his substitute appearance. He did lose the ball once immediately after coming on, but quickly got up to speed and helped to kill the game minutes later.
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Substitute 2 – Alex Iwobi 6.5
Iwobi also created a good chance in his brief substitute appearance, though only one of his four dribble attempts came off. He was also dribbled past three times in just 20 minutes, a game-high total. Thankfully, that didn’t lead to anything.
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Substitute 3 – Lucas Torreira N/A
Torreira came on for 9 minutes but he was barely involved at all. He only had two touches, both passes, one of which found its target.