Arsenal played Cardiff City in South Wales on Sunday in the Premier League. Read on for Layth Yousif’s match report.
Cardiff City:
Neil Etheridge: 6.5 - Given no chance for the first two goals but should he have been beaten at his near post for Lacazette’s third, even if it was a powerful strike?
Joe Bennett: 7.5 - Whipped in the cross for Camarasa’s goal seconds before the interval. Showed good energy in defence and attack.
Sean Morrison: 7.5 - Came into contact with Lacazette early on before the former Lyon man went to ground but no sanction was given. A solid presence who earned his assist after guiding the ball to Ward for City’s second goal
Bruno Ecuele Manga: 7 - Put in a shift
Harry Arter: 6.5 - Spurned a huge chance early on. Harried effectively as he always does.
Joe Ralls: 8 - Impressive technique allied with deadball expertise and a Stakhanovite workrate
Danny Ward: 7.5 - Effective with his back to goal as he linked play. The 26-year-old former Huddersfield attacker deserved his goal as he angled his header past Cech with 20 minutes remaining
Bobby Reid: 7 - Lively throughout as he pressed the Arsenal backline incessantly
Victor Camarasa: 7.5 - The talented 24-year-old signed on loan from Real Betis showed superb composure to rifle home the equaliser on the stroke of half-time. Booked
Sol Bamba: 7 - The big No5 was solid while always looking to supplement attacks by marauding down the right flank
Junior Hoilett: 7 - Always looked to attack but also tracked back to help defensive colleagues
Arsenal:
Petr Cech: 6 - Tested continually when attempting to play out from the back
Hector Bellerin: 6.5 - Excellent going forward. Still needs work on his defensive positioning
Shkodran Mustafi: 6 - Scored with a powerful header. If only his defending could be as emphatic
Sokratis: 5 - Looked shaky in the hectic opening stages. Timid with poor distribution is not a good look
Nacho Monreal: 6 - Rightly booked for a high boot on the tricky Reid midway through the first half
Granit Xhaka: 6 - An assist for the corner which led to Mustafi’s headed opener but gave the ball away cheaply to prompt the move which led to the Bluebirds leveller late in first half injury time.
Matteo Guendouzi: 6.5 – Raw but always willing and able to drop deep to receive the ball from his defenders
Aaron Ramsey: 6.5 - Worked hard but not as effective as he would have liked
Mesut Ozil: 6.5 - Whether you believe he returned from his sickbed or the doghouse he was again anonymous in the heart of battle – that was until he fed Lacazette the ball which led to Aubameyang’s superb strike
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 7.5 - Showed his quality to curl home an excellent effort after an interchange with Lacazette on the edge of the area
Alexandre Lacazette: 8 - Unlucky not to score with a powerful low drive which bounced off the far post before it was cleared safely be a relieved home defence. Showed unselfishness and awareness to lay the ball off for Aubameyang to fire home. Deserved his goal which was expertly taken as he fired home at the near post
Substitutes:
Lucas Torreira: 7.5 - On for Guendouzi with 20 minutes remaining. Assist for Lacazette’s goal. Should be a starter from now on if fit
Danny Welbeck: 7 - On for Ozil late on
Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 6 - On for Aubameyang late on. Little time to make an impact
Follow Arsenal reporter Layth on Twitter @laythy29
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