Arsenal staged a late comeback on Thursday night thanks largely to Nicolas Pepe, coming from behind to beat Vitoria 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium.

Not fun

Arsenal made things difficult for themselves by spending the vast majority of the match trailing to Vitoria. They conceded in the eighth minute, and after equalising through Gabriel Martinelli in the 32nd they fell behind again four minutes later.

What should have been a fairly straightforward match ended up being a mad scramble to try and find two late goals. Nicolas Pepe came off the bench to score two free-kicks in the final 10 minutes and give the Gunners another three points.

Arsenal now sit top of the group on nine points, ahead of Frankfurt (six points), Standard Liege (three) and Vitoria (zero). Unai Emery’s side are edging closer to the knockout stages and they’re in a strong position to secure top spot too.

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

Goalkeeper and Defence

• Emi Martinez 7 – His clean sheet record this season finally comes to an end. Marcus Edwards’ strike went through his legs, but it was from such close range you could hardly blame the goalkeeper. The second goal was a fantastic finish. Emi did make a few good saves, and actually completed 100% of his passes.
• Hector Bellerin 6 – No more than solid as he continues to get up to speed after injury. Looked a bit more impressive going forward after Pepe came on, which was when he created his only chance of the match.
• Shkodran Mustafi 7.5 – Won an incredible 11 aerial duels (the next highest Arsenal player was Bellerin on three), though he should’ve scored from one of them late on. Didn’t do much wrong for the goals, Mustafi is quietly performing well away from the Premier League.
• Rob Holding 6 – Turned too easily for an early Vitoria chance, though he grew into the game as it went on. For the most part, his passing was very good, but he never found his range with the long balls forward.
• Kieran Tierney 6.5 – Tierney’s crosses were a huge threat once again, and gave Arsenal their opening goal through an assist for Martinelli. He let the Vitoria winger get the wrong side of him for the opening goal though, and failed to recover the ball when he had the chance.

Click ‘Next’ for Midfield, Forwards and Substitutes

Midfield and Forwards

• Joe Willock 5 – Not having a great week, Willock was subbed off at half-time again. He isn’t being used in his best position as a box-to-box midfielder, but he’ll still be a little disappointed with how he struggled at times under pressure, despite a few positive moments.
• Lucas Torreira 5.5 – Other than a pass into Maitland-Niles he shouldn’t have played, Torreira was mostly effective back in a deeper role for the first half. Then he was moved into a more advanced area after half-time and he looked lost.
• Emile Smith Rowe 7 – Still getting back into the swing of things, Smith Rowe did seem to tire late in the second half. Before that, he was one of few on the team who could receive possession with his back to goal and turn a player to move the ball forward. He made a match-high five tackles too, and created the most chances of anyone on the team.
• Ainsley Maitland-Niles 3 – Had real problems with his first touch under heavy pressure from Vitoria. His error leading to a goal was the most high-profile example, but it was just one of a few moments where he put himself in trouble. Subbed for his own good at half time.
• Gabriel Martinelli 7.5 – Scored an excellent header once again, and worked incredibly hard throughout the match. Should have scored a second, but the important thing is that he made himself great chances once again with his movement. His dribbling out wide was a little hit-and-miss.
• Alexandre Lacazette 6 – Lacazette had some good moments in the build-up play, and he probably would’ve scored if his teammates had been a bit more unselfish on one or two occasions. Still, he’ll be disappointed not to have been more of a threat in the box.

Click ‘Next’ for Substitutes

Substitutes

• Matteo Guendouzi 7.5 – Like Smith Rowe, Guendouzi added the ability to turn a man and progress from the deeper midfield areas after coming on. For most of the half, he didn’t do anything too spectacular, but he had a big part in winning the game with his late run to earn an injury-time free-kick.
• Dani Ceballos 6 – A bit of a mixed bag. He had some good moments, he got a bit lucky dribbling out of pressure in his own penalty area but he was also dribbled past three times, as much as anyone else on the team. Needed to create a bit more, but most of his passing was solid.
• Nicolas Pepe 9 – Really announced himself, and made sure every single set-piece was a threat. He scored two fantastic free kicks, should have had an assist from another, and put in a couple of dangerous corners too. His confidence looked high after the first goal and being the match-winner should lift it even further.