Arsene Wenger marked his 18th anniversary at the club by coming up against a Galatasaray side that had to leave it late to get something out of their opening game against Anderlecht. It turned out to be a great affair for the Gunners as Danny Welbeck turned on the style with a scintillating hat-trick.
In the wake of the terrific display against the Turkish outing, Gooner Daily serves you with the player ratings.
DEFENSE
Wojciech Szczesny didn’t have much to do all game long but a rush of blood to his head made him race out from his line to scythe down Burak Yilmaz and he received his marching orders. 5/10
Calum Chambers had a great game at right back, making good interceptions and making good tackles. 7/10
Kieran Gibbs had a good day in the office and saw off the threat Galatasaray posed from his wing. 7/10
Per Mertesacker was a colossus at the back, making his trademark interceptions and doing a tidy work at the back. 7/10
Laurent Koscielny was a beast as usual with his combative style of play. 7/10
MIDFIELD
Mathieu Flamini gave a better account of himself following his debacle against Tottenham and protected his back line admirably. 7/10
Santi Cazorla did okay and almost crowned his night with a goal but he was a bit sloppy in possession on some occasions. 6/10
Mesut Ozil was as fluid as ever making those neat passes (made an assist) and influencing the game as he would have liked. However, he got tired as the game progressed. 7/10
ATTACK
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was all about pace and power but he showed off his creative side as he threaded a neat assist through the defender’s legs for Danny Welbeck. A great all-round performance. 8/10
Alexis Sanchez worked hard as always but he also contributed immensely to Arsenal’s attack, scoring one and assisting another. 9/10
Danny Welbeck had probably the best game in his football career as he bagged a superb hat-trick. 10/10
SUBSTITUTES
David Ospina came on as Szczesny’s replacement following the Pole’s red card and he went on to make some superb saves. 8/10
Tomas Rosicky came on for the Ox and had a couple of neat touches. 6/10
Jack Wilshere replaced a jaded Ozil and stamped his authority on the game. Almost capped a good performance with a delightful pass to Cazorla that was hacked off the line. 7/10
Do you agree with these ratings? Feel free to share yours with your comments.
Sayonara.
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