Arsenal demolished Lyon on the opening day of the Emirates Cup. The Gunners played some great football in the 6-0 win, with goals from Olivier Giroud, Alex Iwobi, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and
Damian Martinez – 7.5
The Argentinian keeper may currently be the clubs 3rd or 4th choice goalkeeper, but he put in a very good showing yesterday. Although Lyon did not do too much to test him, he handled everything he had to with confidence and maturity.
Mathieu Debuchy – 6.5
Debuchy wasn’t really tested defensively and didn’t seem to have too much energy going forward. Perhaps the Frenchman has not yet regained his sharpness and I would expect Bellerin to start the season at right back.
Per Mertesacker – 7
Mertesacker did what he had to do well. He displayed excellent leadership qualities in a game where the defence where often simply there for the sake of it. Per needs to step up in the presence of Gabriel Paulista.
Laurent Koscielny – 6.5
Koscielny had very little to do but looks fit and sharp ahead of the new season. His partnership with Mertesacker is a particular strength of Arsenal’s right now.
Kieran Gibbs – 6.5
Gibbs will have to work hard to earn his place back from Nacho Monreal. He looked OK but nothing special against Lyon, as usual his pace is a threat going forward but there are always going to be question marks over his defending in games against bigger teams.
Francis Coquelin – 7
Coquelin was solid in the middle of the park, making a few solid interceptions and anchoring the Arsenal midfield expertly, albeit in a friendly.
Aaron Ramsey – 8.5
Ramsey made a huge case to start over Santi Cazorla in the centre on Saturday. He was excellent, driving the play forward, some good creative play and a great timed run before poking home Ozil’s expert through ball.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 8
Chamberlain is a quality player with world class potential, but as of yet he hasn’t realised that. In this game he showed glimpses of the player we know he can be.
Mesut Ozil – 9
The German was magnificent. He pulled the strings excellently, assisting for fun and scoring a very good goal in the second half. He looks in fine form ahead of the new season and hopefully he can lead us to the title next season.
Alex Iwobi – 7.5
The teenage Nigerian winger had a very good game and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet twice after having a second harshly ruled out for offside. His chances may be limited this season but he will have definitely made a lasting impression on Arsene Wenger this pre-season.
Olivier Giroud – 6.5
Giroud scored a somewhat fortunate goal but didn’t look at his best again in this game. Although he held the ball up well at times, his finishing looks very rusty and we can’t afford him to miss big chances in the coming weeks.
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