Emirates Stadium was the place where Arsenal got back to good feelings against Rapid Vienna. We have Europa League player ratings.
Despite their poor moment in the Premier League, Arsenal still had good chances to win tonight against Rapid Vienna. The UEFA Europa League is a tournament in which Mikel Arteta has done a good job to date with four out of four matches won. With Group B’s top spot secured despite Aubameyang’s poor moment, the gaffer still wanted to make a good impression.
Times were perfect for the other great striker to finally make his appearance in a big way at Arsenal. Alexandre Lacazette was living under Aubameyang’s shadow but today was a good opportunity to step out of it. The man wasted no time and delivered an incredible howler from a long distance to begin Arsenal’s show against Rapid Vienna.
The French striker completely swallowed Thierry Henry from his best days with that gorgeous shot. After Pablo Mari’s header during a corner kick for a 2-0 result, Lacazette appeared again. The French forward was right in the middle of a vintage Arsenal collective effort with the key pass before Nketiah’s goal.
Smith-Rowe gets the fourth for Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta needed a dominant performance like this after a rough month with a lot of criticism. With a 3-0 advantage, the players were able to control the second half despite Kitagawa’s goal after the break. Youngster Smith-Rowe connected with Maitland-Niles for the Gunners’ fourth and final goal.
This result leaves Arsenal with a perfect run so far in the tournament before the Round of 32 begins. There is still one game left to play but the Gunners can be considered one of the strongest sides of the upcoming draw. Feel free to check out the rest of today’s results down below.
Player ratings
Arsenal: Runarsson (6), Mustafi (7), Soares (8), Mari (7), Kollasinac (7), Elneny (7), Maitland-Niles (7), Lacazette (10), Pepe (7), Nketiah (8), Nelson (7).
Bench: Smith-Rowe (7), Willian (7), Ceballos (7), Chambers (6), Balogun (5).
Rapid Vienna: Strebinger (5), Sonnleitner (5), Hofmann (4), Ullmann (5), Greiml (5), Ritzmeier (6), Schuster (5), Alar (5), Kitagawa (6), Arase (5), Demir (5).
Bench: Schick (5), Barac (5), Kara (5), Knasmullner (5), Sulzbacher (5).
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