Wojciech Szczesny: Had to save shots from Bacuna and Westwood second half, but both straight at him. No chance of stopping Benteke's header, but fielded a low Delph drive at 2-1. Also had to deal with another Benteke header. 5.5/10. Bacary Sagna: Continues to be a willing and attacking outlet up from right back. 5/10. Per Mertesacker: Failed to cut out Lowton's cross from the Benteke goal. 5/10. Laurent Koscielny: Superb defending to stop Agbonlahor on the counter. Found Benteke a handful. 6/10. Nacho Monreal: Booked for bringing down Agbonlahor after half an hour, but teed up Wilshere for the opener. Subbed. 5.5/10. Mathieu Flamini: Effective for long spells today. 6/10. Jack Wilshere: Our man of the match. Made the opener and then assisted Giroud's goal. Booked in second half stoppage time, but looks much more comfortable in a central midfield berth. 7/10. Serge Gnabry: Youngster made some good forward runs and managed to concuss Baker when he fired a shot straight into his face. Subbed. 5.5/10. Mesut Ozil: Failed to make much of an impression on this match. German came to Arsenal for big money, but his recent contribution amounts to nice turns and clever touches. 5/10. Santi Cazorla: Shot straight at Guzan and also lost possession in the build-up to Benteke's goal in second half. 4.5/10. Olivier Giroud: Scored the second goal on his return from illness and injury. Clever movement made this one. Gunners glad to have him back. 6/10. Subs: Kieran Gibbs: Came on for last 25 minutes for Monreal. 5/10. Tomas Rosicky: Replaced young Gnabry, but Czech only lasted about 15 minutes. Rating N/A. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Given a brief cameo when Rosicky could not continue. Rating N/A. Who was your man of the match? Have your say below.
Jamie Clark is a qualified Web Journalist after undergoing professional training at the University of Sheffield. A prolific and accredited sports writer, he also enjoys classic comedy, historic fiction, 80s music and heritage.
