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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Simon Collings

Arsenal player ratings vs Everton: Oleksandr Zinchenko a class above with Gabriel Martinelli back to his best

Arsenal stretched their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points by thumping Everton.

The Gunners struggled to break down the Toffees in the opening 40 minutes, but then Bukayo Saka lashed one home into the top corner.

That opened the floodgates as Gabriel Martinelli added a second just before half-time. The Brazilian got a second after the break and Martin Odegaard also got on the scoresheet too.

Arsenal are now five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after winning their game in hand against Everton.

Simon Collings was at Emirates Stadium to see Arsenal in action...

Aaron Ramsdale 6

Forced to make a smart save early on as Neal Maupay let fly from outside the box. Made another in the second-half to deny Dwight McNeil.

Ben White 7

Was a little sloppy in the early stages with his passing, but he got better as the game went on. Caused problems on the overlap every now and then.

William Saliba 6

A comfortable night’s work for the Frenchman as he and Gabriel dealt with Maupay easily. Never really had to break a sweat.

Gabriel 7

Had to be alert in the first-half as Arsenal were almost caught on the counter. Made one excellent recovery tackle on Maupay to stop the Gunners being punished.

Oleksandr Zinchenko 9 | Star player

A class above from the left-back, although it feels wrong to call him that. Controlled the game and created the opener with a great pass. So influential.

Martin Odegaard 8

Struggled in the first-half as Everton starved him of time and space. Influence grew after the break. Played some lovely passes that opened Toffees up. Deserved his goal.

Martin Odegaard put the result beyond doubt with 20 minutes remaining (AFP via Getty Images)

Jorginho 5

Passing radar was just a bit off all night as he tried to open Everton up. Was prone to overhitting some through-balls. Taken off at half-time for Partey.

Granit Xhaka 7

A neat and tidy performance if not spectacular. Had a hand in the third goal as he played the pass that put Trossard in behind.

Bukayo Saka 9

Stepped up to the plate again to be Arsenal’s hero. Opened the scoring with a brilliant finish and setup the second by pickpocketing Idrissa Gueye.

Leandro Trossard 7

Had another good game after doing well against Leicester. Started through the middle but drifted wide and swapped with Martinelli a lot. Setup the third goal with a good run and cut-back.

Gabriel Martinelli 9

Scored for the third Premier League game in a row as he found the net twice. Started out left but spent plenty of the game playing as a No9. Looks back to his best after a dip in form.

Substitutions

Thomas Partey (Jorginho 45’) 7

On at the break and he made a real difference. Bossed the midfield. Huge for Arsenal that he is fit again.

Eddie Nketiah (Trossard 72’) 6

Squandered a great chance to score, but did setup the team’s fourth goal.

Fabio Vieira (Xhaka 72’) 6

A bright cameo. Went close to scoring on a few occasions.

Emile Smith Rowe (Saka 82’) N/A

Kieran Tierney (Zinchenko 82’) N/A

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