Player Ratings: Southampton 0-2 Arsenal

In what was mostly a frustrating and dull match, Arsenal beat Southampton to pick up the three points and keep their push for the top four alive. 

For the first 45 minutes, Arsenal were largely absent and produced relatively little going forward. In the second-half, however, Arsenal finally broke through the Southampton defence thanks to a piece of magic from Alexis Sanchez. From then on Arsenal looked reasonably comfortable and seemed much more dangerous on the break as Southampton pushed forward. Olivier Giroud got Arsenal’s second to kill the game and seal the points, so here are the player ratings from today’s game. 

Petr Cech: 7/10

Continued his run of form. There were moments in the first-half when Arsenal looked sloppy and poor but thankfully Cech was there to cover for the mistakes. 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 5/10 

Went off in the first-half with an injury but didn’t do much before then. 

Rob Holding: 7/10

Calm on the ball, solid in defence, another brilliant performance from Holding. The Englishman impresses every time he plays of late. 

Shkodran Mustafi: 8/10 

For his first game back into the team, Mustafi looked very sharp. Without Koscielny, Arsenal don’t have a leader in their defence but Mustafi stepped in well this evening. The question is whether he will take Holding’s position when Koscielny returns. 

Nacho Monreal: 7.5/10

Since he shifted inside, Monreal has been incredibly solid. He may not be incredible on the ball but he is an incredibly reliable defender. 

Kieran Gibbs: 6.5/10 

Made some runs forward but didn’t really produce too much. 

Granit Xhaka: 7/10

Didn’t have the influence on the game as he did on Sunday but nonetheless, a very solid performance. Xhaka’s still adapting to the league so at times he is out of position but over the last few weeks, he’s shown some real tangible progression. He may not be quite to his best yet but he’s certainly playing better than he did at the beginning of the season. 

Aaron Ramsey: 6.5/10 

What has happened to Aaron Ramsey’s touch? The Welshman gets himself into great forward position but can’t hold onto the ball. His runs forward and energy are essential to the team albeit it wasn’t his best performance tonight. 

Alexis Sanchez: 8/10 

Produced a bit of magic to break the deadlock. In games like this, Arsenal need their star players to pull them through the mire and that’s what he did tonight. With maybe some more clinical play from Welbeck and Ozil, Sanchez may have added a second goal to his tally. 

He now is the fifth Arsenal player to score 20 or more Premier League goals – some accomplishment. 

Mesut Ozil: 6.5/10

Quiet throughout a lot of the game. He did manage to get another assist but aside from that nothing seemed to go well for Ozil. The formation change has heralded a rise in form like it has some other players. Wenger needs to place him in behind a tandem of Sanchez and Welbeck for the next game. 

Danny Welbeck: 6/10 

His mobility is a big plus over Giroud but technically the Frenchman is a better player. At times Welbeck struggled to get involved in the game and when he did, he had no real positive effect on proceedings. A tough game for Welbeck. 

Substitutes: 

Olivier Giroud: 7/10 

Came on and scored, what more could you ask. With Welbeck’s poor performance, the Frenchman may well return to the lineup. 

Hector Bellerin: 7/10

Came on for Oxlade-Chamberlain and played well. Looks like he could be in line for a start against Stoke. 

Francis Coquelin: N/A