Arsenal came from behind to win 3-1 in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Valencia on Thursday, putting them in a good position ahead of the reverse fixture in Spain.
Unai Emery’s side got off to the worst possible start as Mouctar Diakhaby headed home an early away goal to give Valencia the lead. It only took seven minutes for the Gunners to draw level though, after good work by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave Alexandre Lacazette the chance to put away a tap in.
Lacazette then scored a second eight minutes later with a strong header, before Aubameyang added a potentially-vital third late on.
Let’s have a look at our individual player ratings for the match.
Front Three
Mesut Özil 7
Özil kept Arsenal ticking over in possession as he always does, but he also worked hard for the team, making a couple of tackles and winning four of his five individual duels. He wasn’t at his best creatively, failing to make a chance for once, but that wasn’t a big problem as his passing and runs still helped teammates create plenty.
Alexandre Lacazette 8.5
Lacazette started excellently, scoring a couple of early goals to snatch the lead away from Valencia and linking up well with his teammates. It’s no surprise to see him stepping up in another big game, after his previous contributions to goals against Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Napoli this season.
He should’ve scored a third in the second half when through on the goalkeeper, but other than that it was a complete centre-forward performance from the Arsenal man. He won the joint-most aerials of any Arsenal player, made tackles and clearances, created chances and was consistently a threat to Valencia.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 8.5
Similarly, Aubameyang stepped up his game to drag Arsenal into a strong position ahead of the second leg. The first goal was as much down to his pace and decision-making as Lacazette’s excellent through ball to create the opportunity. The third was a much tougher finish than it looked, as he took the shot on from a very tight angle.
The striker created a couple of great chances and closed Valencia down well all night, so he was certainly willing to do more for the team than just finish opportunities, despite the accusations sometimes levelled at him.