Arsenal secured their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League after a hat-trick from Olivier Giroud sealed a 3-0 win over Olympiakos.
The odds were stacked against the Gunners on Wednesday night, but a solid defensive performance coupled with Giroud’s clinical finishing saw them advance.
Our friends at top Gunners blog All Arsenal have produced a detailed article in which all of Arsene Wenger’s players have been rated out of 10 based on their performances against Sunderland. Check it out below.
http://www.allarsenal.com/2015/12/matchreports/player-ratings-olympiacos-0-3-arsenal-hat-trick-hero-giroud-guides-us-into-last-16/
The players knew as well as anybody how much this game meant, and every single player gave 100% to get a much needed dominant victory. Olivier Giroud led the way scoring all three goals, but it was a superb performance from the entire team.
Here is how we rate the Arsenal players from our 3-0 victory over Olympiacos:
GK) Petr Cech – 7.5
He made a couple of really great saves to make sure we kept our clean sheet, providing the platform for us to push on and get the goals we needed.
RB) Hector Bellerin – 6.5
The Spaniard looks a little lacking in sharpness at the moment, and possibly confidence for some reason as well. He gave away a needless and risky free kick early on, but looked far more comfortable once we scored.
LB) Nacho Monreal – 7.5
An excellent display from the left-back, who was solid defensively and decent going forward as well. He got the assist for the penalty, although it was worrying that he was constantly left one-on-one so often.
CB) Laurent Koscielny – 8.0
What a performance from the Frenchman! He made some really key interceptions throughout the game, including one unquestionably goal saving one.
CB) Per Mertesacker – 7.0
Mertesacker was a little shaky early on, and was caught out of position regularly. His lack of pace put pressure on Bellerin and Koscielny, and he looked like the weak link. As we grew into the game and began to dominate possession however, he started to assert himself on the game far more.
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DM) Mathieu Flamini – 7.0
It was incredibly worrying when the French midfielder was seen in the opposition box so often, as we needed to be defensively solid too. He was slightly more disciplined in the second half, but still got forward too much.
CM) Aaron Ramsey – 7.5
He worryingly picked up an early yellow card, but it was a solid game that included an assist for the Welshman.
CAM) Mesut Özil – 8.0
Fantastic yet again, with his vision beginning the moves that resulted in our goals. He provided the pass that led to the assist for every single goal, and continues to shine every game.
RAM) Theo Walcott – 6.5
Understandably lacking match sharpness after a lengthy spell on the sidelines. He was an occasional threat, but wasted a few decent chances and gave away possession too often.
LAM) Joel Campbell – 8.0
There were concerns about him early on, and he was guilty of giving the ball away far too often. He was a different player in the second half though, looking a constant threat going forward and supplying a superb assist for Olivier Giroud’s second.
ST) Olivier Giroud – 9.5
The Frenchman may have his critics, but he was absolutely phenomenal tonight. He struggled to hold the ball up early on under a huge amount of pressure, but settled into his groove and finished the game with his first ever Arsenal hat-trick.