Arsenal, Nicolas Pepe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)

Arsenal, Nicolas Pepe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)

Arsenal Player Ratings

Arsenal vs Everton player ratings: Seven goals in two games?!

by Josh Sippie
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Arsenal hosted Everton looking to keep the good juju going forward after the breakout performance against Newcastle. Here are the player ratings.

Arsenal (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)

Arsenal stuck to the script with the personnel decisions against Everton. There were relatively no changes to speak of. Only Bukayo Saka made way, questionably albeit, for Sead Kolasinac, but this is probably in reaction to Saka playing so much lately, as well as getting him back to his preferred position.

Elsewhere, Eddie Nketiah kept his starting spot at striker, with Alexandre Lacazette returning to the bench, despite making it two goals in as many games against Olympiakos.

Things didn’t necessarily start very well. A relatively routine set-piece turned catastrophic when David Luiz had a bafflingly header that set up Calvert-Lewin for a simple enough finish. Just like that, the clean sheet streak was over.

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The Gunners did continue to struggle against the high press early on, failing to settle into the match or mount a significant chance.

That said, the chances were only a matter of time. Bukayo Saka got involved right away from his introduction, setting Nicolas Pepe up for a solid chance before delivering a pristine assist mere moments later Eddie Nketiah for his first.

The second came in the 27th, a tremendous pass from David Luiz picked out a pristine run from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and he was never going to miss. All he had to do was pass it into the far corner, and he did. It was a tremendous response after the immediate Everton goal to start the match.

Unfortunately, that response was undermined when Richarlison snuck one in on another confusing set-piece. Thus the first half ended, with two well-earned goals for the Gunners and two scrappy goals from the Toffees.

Just as Everton did in the first, Arsenal did in the second, when Nicolas Pepe fired a cross into the box that met the unmarked head of Aubameyang for a third goal, thus making it seven goals in two matches, though you had a feeling this one wasn’t out of goals just yet.

It started to get really sloppy around the hour mark, as the Gunners seemed to lose their focus.

Turns out the match was, in fact, out of goals. So let’s get into those player ratings:

Goalkeeper

BERND LENO

GK, Arsenal

7.8

Stranded on the first goal, nothing he could do. Hard to hold the second one against him either. His defense left Richarlison wide open for that goal and Leno could only flail in hope. Very conclusive when he did have a part to play, both in making saves and in commanding his area. Unbelievable save by Leno in the 72nd when the whole of the Emirates held their breath. Came off his line in the 88th to make a crucial stop on Richarlison, ten yards outside his own box. There was no room to make a mistake here, and he played it perfectly.
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