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Football London
Football London
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Kaya Kaynak

Arsenal player ratings vs Manchester United as Granit Xhaka superb and Bukayo Saka stars

Aaron Ramsdale: Looked really nervous when playing out from the back and probably could have done more to stop the Ronaldo goal by coming for the cross. Looked revitalised after Fernandes' penalty miss though and pulled off a sublime save to stop Dalot. 5.

Cedric: Struggled at times in the first half up against Sancho's dribbling and looked pretty shaky when playing out from the back even if his options were limited. Recovered to have a better second half. 5.

Ben White: Not at his usually composed best. Appeared nervous by the prospect of facing Ronaldo. Seemed to be more interested in individual duels than defending the game state, but won some crucial tackles when needed. 5.

READ MORE: Arsenal fans send support to Manchester United ace Cristiano Ronaldo after death of son

Gabriel: Seemed to lose the flight of the ball from the cross that led to Ronaldo's goal and was far from his assured self. Has looked a bit out of sorts since the return from the international break. 5.

Nuno Tavares: Scored early and that is what saves him from a much worse rating. Gave the ball away a lot and gave away a ridiculous penalty for a completely needless handball. 5.

Mohamed Elneny: Another solid display from the Egyptian who was tidy in possession in front of the backline. Nothing spectacular, but what Arsenal needed on the big occasion. Was alert to win possession back for Xhaka's strike too. 7.

Martin Odegaard: Stepped up as Arsenal's technical leader again on the big occasion. So secure in possession and really unlucky not to have the assist of the season for his ball to Nketiah in the first half. 7.

Granit Xhaka: An outstanding display from the Swiss international who hardly put a foot wrong. Lead the team through their difficult spell at the start of second half encouraging concentration before rifling a sublime third past David De Gea. When Arsenal have needed Xhaka at the most important part of the season he has stepped up and delivered. 8.

Bukayo Saka: Another performance where the England international took the big occasion by the scruff of the neck. All the goals came from work he did, and his penalty showed nerves of steal in a clutch moment. 8.

Eddie Nketiah: Was offside for what would have been his goal and missed another big chance. His link up play wasn't always top notch, but probably enough to keep his place for West Ham. 6.

Emile Smith Rowe: Kind of anonymous on the day as most of Arsenal's good attacks came down the right hand side. Technically secure when he did get it but not spectacular. 6.

Substitutes -

Gabriel Martinelli: Slightly anonymous as well after coming on. Asked to do a lot of defending with how poor Tavares was, but did it well. 6.

Rob Holding: Brought on to lock the game down for Arsenal and did precisely that. Didn't actually have too much defending to, but was good when called upon. 6.

Takehiro Tomiyasu: Came on too late to influence the game. n/a.

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