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[Player Ratings] Lacazette excellent, Xhaka woeful as Arsenal beat Cardiff 3-2

By on September 6, 2018

alexandre lacazette

Alexandre Lacazette scored the winner as Arsenal beat Cardiff City 3-2 in a five-goal thriller in Wales this afternoon.

We opened the scoring early on through a Shkodran Mustafi header before Cardiff levelled on the stroke of half-time. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang curled home from 20 yards to make it 2-1 after the break before the hosts pulled it back to 2-2 with a header in the 71st minute.

However, Lacazette grabbed a deserved winner with ten minutes to go and ensured it would be a bad day for the online sportsbook companies as he turned smartly before firing in to the top near corner for 3-2 to secure a vital three points for Arsenal.

Here are my ratings:

Cech  5/10 | Distribution was woeful. Not sure how much longer this experiment can continue as Cech is clearly not comfortable playing out from the back.

Bellerin  6.5/10 |Was isolated down the right but held himself well and was a threat going forward at times.

Mustafi  6.5/10 | Lovely header to open the scoring and went close again in the second half. Still not tight enough at the back.

Sokratis   6/10 | Looked a little shaky in the first half but settled in to the game and was largely solid.

Monreal  6/10 | Could have done better to prevent the equaliser and should probably have scored in the first half.

Guendouzi  6.5/10 | Always available for the ball and was good in possession. Still feel Torreira should be starting in the holding role.

Xhaka  5/10 | Lost possession in the build-up to their first goal and gave away some silly free-kicks. Surely it can’t long before he’s dropped?

Ramsey  7/10 | Worked hard throughout and was excellent in the first half. Tired a bit after the break but another decent showing from Rambo.

Ozil  6.5/10 | Quiet in the first half but was involved in the build-up to Aubameyang’s goal and was far more influential when he drifted inside from the wing.

Aubameyang  7/10 | Lovely goal to make it 2-1 and linked-up well with his strike partner. We have to give them a chance to develop a partnership.

Lacazette  8/10 | Excellent all round performance. Superb finish to make it 3-2 and great to see him link-up with Aubameyang for our second goal. Has to start.

Subs:

Torreira  7/10 | Another impressive cameo. Completed all 26 of his passes and assisted the winner. Has to start.

Welbeck/Mkhitaryan   N/A | Introduced late on.

WATCH THE GOALS FROM CARDIFF 2-3 ARSENAL HERE

It was more of the same. Woeful defending coupled with moments of excellence going forward. We really need to sort out our defence if we’re going to challenge for the top four this season. Today showed us that Auba and Laca need to start together while it’s time for Torreira to be given his chance. Next up, Newcastle away after the international break…

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