Arsenal clinched their second win of the new Premier League season thanks to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over 10-man Newcastle United at St James’ Park thanks to a second-half own goal from Fabricio Coloccini.
Here is how we have rated Arsene Wenger’s side:
GK) Petr Cech
Virtually a spectator in both halves and did not have a genuine save to make en route to keeping successive clean sheets. 6/10.
DR) Hector Bellerin
Should have had a penalty inside the first 15 minutes and was a constant threat on the right-hand side. 7/10.
CB) Gabriel Paulista
Task was made easier following Aleksandar Mitrovic’s early red card and produced a couple of timely headed clearances to clear the danger late in the game. 7/10.
CB) Laurent Koscielny
Similar to his defensive partner today as they didn’t have much to do in terms of defending following the early dismissal. 7/10.
LB) Nacho Monreal
The Spaniard is improving with each game and was probably the best player on the park from a Gunners point of view. 8/10.
MC) Santi Cazorla {C}
Much improved display from the stand-in skipper, but is still not firing on all cylinders. 6/10.
MC) Francis Coquelin
On the receiving end of two forceful challenges in the first-half but still produced a typical all-action display. 7/10.
MC) Aaron Ramsey
Moved into his more favoured central role due to the absence of Mesut Ozil and was full of energy and made good runs off the ball.
Sloppy at times in possession, but looks much more comfortable when not asked to play on the right-hand side. 7/10.
RW) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Decent performance from the winger in his recall to the starting XI, he will surely want to claim the winner which has gone down as a Fabricio Coloccini own-goal. 7/10.
LW) Alexis Sanchez
Still not at 100% following his exploits at the Copa America, but was always a threat to the Magpies defence. 6/10.
ST) Theo Walcott
Should have scored early on and then failed to convert from close range as Tim Krul spilled an Alexis effort. Clearly not the answer to the Gunners centre-forward problems. 4/10.
Substitutes:
Olivier Giroud
Came on with a point to prove after being dropped from the starting XI, but failed to score when clean through on goal in injury time. 5/10.
Mikel Arteta
Came on and helped the team retain possession in the final 10 minutes. 6/10.