Arsenal edged Blackpool 2-1 at the Emirates on Wednesday night, read Toby Miles’ play ratings as the Gunners progressed to the quarter finals of the Carabao Cup.

Arsenal:

Petr Cech: 6 - Making his return from a hamstring injury sustained in September, the Czech wasn’t tested in the first-half. He was almost embarrassed in the second-half, getting the ball tangled under his feet and losing possession inside his penalty area. He was let-off, after Nathan Delfouneso’s tap-in - which would have levelled the scores - was ruled out for offside.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 6 - Some darting runs come to nothing, and he could do little but pass sideways in the first-half. Made little impact in the second.

Aaron Ramsey: 6 - The Welshman was solid but was fairly anonymous, with little competition in the midfield battle.

Stephan Lichtsteiner: 8 - Scored the Gunner’s first-half goal with a perfectly timed, darting run through the tight Blackpool defence, and poking past Mark Howard. Had a solid game in defence, though the visitor’s rarely tried anything on the wings.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 7 -Looked bright in the first-half, and routinely had the ball at right-wing. Some clever runs got him into promising positions, but his crosses didn’t trouble the visitors. Replaced by Lucas Torreira in the second half, after Guendouzi’s dismissal.

Shkodran Mustafi: 7 - Composed and calm when he needed to be, the German did well alongside his less experienced centre-back partner. Shut out the visitors in a stressful final 30 minutes.

Danny Welbeck: 6 - Couldn’t get the ball under control when it was pumped up to him, and wasn’t able to make the runs needed to break through. However, the Englishman was helpful in the build up.

Carl Jenkinson: 7 - Starting for the first time since November 2016, the right-back dealt with what he needed. He contributed in attack by forcing Mark Howard to parry the ball into the path of Smith-Rowe for the Gunner’s second goal.

Matteo Guendouzi: 6 - Solid in the middle, seeing much of the ball in the first-half as the hosts camped 20 yards from goal. A brilliant assist for Lichtsteiner’s second goal was undermined when he was dismissed after 58 minutes for a soft second yellow.

Julio Pleguezuelo: 8 - The former Barcelona defender started his first game in red and white, and looked assured alongside the experienced Mustafi. Coped well when Arsenal went down to 10 men and Blackpool went searching for an equaliser.

Emile Smith-Rowe: 7 - Full of desire to break through in the first-half, though some of his bursting runs were loose. Added the Gunners’ second after 50 minutes, powering the ball into the ground before watching it rise high into the net.

Substitutes:

Lucas Torreira: 7 - Introduced 15 minutes into the second-half, the popular Uruguayan produced some helpful interceptions when Blackpool came forward in the second-half

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 6 - On for Danny Welbeck in the second-half with 13 minutes to go, he forced the sending off of Paudie O’Connor with six minutes to go.

Alex Iwobi: 6 - Saw little action after coming on, as Blackpool searched for an equaliser.

Unused subs: Rob Holding, Emi Martinez, Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock.