It was a fantastic night for Arsenal’s new boys as they put Nottingham Forest to the sword in a 4-0 win at the City Ground.
Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Lucas Perez
With the stage set for Nicklas Bendtner, it was Arsenal’s new striker, Lucas Perez, who stole the headlines at the City Ground, bagging a brace and claiming an assist on only his second start for the Gunners.
Emiliano Martinez – 6
A fairly comfortable night for the young Italian, with just a handful of routine saves to be made in exchange for a clean-sheet. Martinez will be happy that when Nottingham Forest did threaten, the finishing touch was lacking.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 7 (Sub: Krystian Bielik, 87′)
A positive performance from the English youngster, Maitland-Niles may have been playing in an unfamiliar role, but he was assured at the back and frequently illustrated his attacking talent, producing a number of dangerous crosses and almost grabbing himself a goal on the stroke of half-time.
Rob Holding – 6
He still looks far more comfortable when partnered with Arsenal vice-captain, Laurent Koscielny, but put in a decent enough performance alongside the returning Gabriel. His mix up gifted Forest their most dangerous attack of the game, as Nicklas Bendtner was able to slip in Pajtim Kasami only for the ex-Fulham man to slot wide, but on the whole, it was a good performance for the Birthday boy.
Gabriel Paulista – 6
Returning to the Arsenal line-up for his first competitive game of the season, Gabriel looked a little rusty, failing to close down Bendtner on the edge of the box as the Dane narrowly missed the far post. A couple of fantastic sliding tackles showed what the Brazilian is capable of, but needs to improve his consistency if he wants to make his way back into the team.
Kieran Gibbs – 6
Caught napping a couple of times at the back as Hildeberto Pereira put in a full throttle performance for Forest, Gibbs enjoyed a far better second half, covering his centre-backs well, and providing support to Chuba Akpom as Arsenal pushed forward.
Granit Xhaka – 9 (Man-of-the-Match)
What a week it’s turning into for Granit Xhaka. After opening his Arsenal account with a beautiful long-range effort against Hull City on the weekend, the Gunners’ fans must have been thinking they’d tuned into the weekend’s highlights as the Swiss international buried from an almost identical position, albeit via a deflection.
Xhaka completely dominated the centre of the park, frequently playing probing, forward-thinking passes, and marshalling the space in front of the back four. Xhaka will rightly feel he’s done enough to earn a place in Wenger’s side for their clash with London rivals, Chelsea, this weekend.
Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka scores their first goal
Mohamed Elneny – 7
He wasn’t as domineering as his midfield partner, but Elneny got through a great amount of work in the centre of the park, providing energy, breaking up the play and showing a willingness to get forward.
Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain – 8
Chamberlain will be relieved that he managed to get on the score-sheet in the dying moments of the game as he looked set to turn in another energetic, yet unfulfilling performance in an Arsenal shirt. Chamberlain has been working hard for the team, but lacking the final touches in recent weeks, and after missing the opportunity to score on half-time, it looked like a familiar story for the Ox. But, rejuvenated after the break, Chamberlain frequently looked dangerous, with his direct running causing the Forest defence a number of problems and ultimately could of ended the game with a couple of assists to go with his goal.
Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scores their fourth goal
Jeff Reine-Adelaide – 7 (Sub: Gedion Zelalem, 82′)
A confident performance from the French midfield, Reine-Adelaide was assured and always willing to take the ball on the turn. His passing was befitting of an Arsenal player, and he often drove between the defensive lines, making great use of his acceleration and close control.
Chuba Akpom – 7 (Sub: Chris Willock, 82′)
Operating from the left instead of his preferred striker role, Akpom looked dangerous throughout, making great use of his pace as he combined with Lucas Perez on a number of occasions. It would be this combination that drew the penalty, with Akpom racing onto Perez’s perfectly-weighted through ball, ex-Chelsea defender, Michael Mancienne, brought the youngster down as he raced into the box.
Lucas Perez – 9
With two goals and an assist to his name, Arsenal’s new man up top was unfortunate to miss out on my Man-of-the-Match call. Perez had a quiet first half, going about his work with minimal fuss and closing down the ball without any real reward. But like Oxlade-Chamberlain, Perez came into his own in the second half, linking almost telepathically with his team mates at times and showing composure in the final third.
After slipping Akpom through to win the penalty, Perez dispatched the penalty with great confidence to claim his first goal for the Gunners.
Perez then showed great desire to latch-on to an over-hit through ball, nudging Mancienne off the ball before coolly rounding the keeper and claiming his second goal of the night. It could of been a perfect night for the Spaniard, but as he tired, his composure escaped it, and he will have to wait for his first Arsenal hat-trick.
Perez wasn’t finished though, laying on for Oxlade-Chamberlain to round off Arsenal’s night in the 93rd minute.
Substitutions:
Gedion Zelalem/ Chris Willock/ Krystian Bielik – N/A
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