Arsenal players rated in their comfortable win against Brighton and Hove Albion

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Arsenal overcame Brighton and Hove Albion in their league encounter courtesy of goals from Nacho Monreal and Alex Iwobi. The Gunners had a comfortable afternoon at the Emirates and weren’t really tested by the visitors, who only amassed one shot on goal from all of their efforts.

This victory sees Arsenal continue their unbeaten home run, stretching to 4 wins in 4 games. They are now 5th in the table, while Brighton slip to 14th.

It was dominance from the word go and the scoreline could have been more emphatic but Arsenal were guilty of missing several chances.

Arsenal head into the current international break with a much better mood on comparison to the last one, on the back of a 4-0 defeat at Anfield. The Gunners since then, have managed to win and keep a clean sheet in all of the games that followed.

This victory brings Arsenal level on points with Chelsea and just three points behind cross-town rivals Tottenham Hotspurs. As a part of the chasing pack, Arsenal cannot afford a slip-up given the dominance shown by the Manchester duo on top of the Premier League.

Let’s look at how the players fared on the occasion.

Petr Cech – 7/10

Another clean sheet for Petr Cech. Was untested on the night and will hope for more of such outings at home.

Rob Holding – 6/10

It was surprising to see Holding in the starting lineup given his involvement in Belarus. A solid performance nonetheless from Holding, as was expected of him against the minnows.

Shkodran Mustafi – 6/10

Third outing in seven days for Mustafi and the fatigue was there to be seen. Murray’s introduction, later on, caused him a few problems but did enough to keep a clean sheet.

Nacho Monreal – 7/10

Once again, a solid defensive performance from the Spaniard. To top it up, he scored his first league goal in over 4 years, with his last strike coming in March 2013.

Hector Bellerin – 7/10

He was up against Bong and did well to restrict Brighton down the left flank. A busy evening for the Spaniard as he kept huffing and puffing down the right.

Aaron Ramsey – 6/10

Sloppy in possession and didn’t do much with the ball in spite of Arsenal’s dominance in terms of possession.

Granit Xhaka – 7/10

It’s not often you get to see Xhaka being the best midfielder on the night, and this was one of them. He looked sharp on the ball and his set pieces will definitely be an outlook of attack for the Gunners.

Sead Kolasinac – 7/10

No-nonsense and sensible defending from Arsenal’s tank down the left.

Alex Iwobi – 6/10

The youngster has been putting in decent performances and this was another one on the list. He was finally rewarded with a goal for his efforts and will be mightily pleased with getting his name on the scoresheet.

Alexis Sanchez – 7/10

Always looked to be in the mix of things and looked lively for most of the match. His highlight of the match has to be the backheel assist for Iwobi’s goal.

Alexandre Lacazette – 6/10

Should have had his name on the scoresheet but saw his effort thundered off the crossbar. Could not continue his goalscoring form at the Emirates.

Substitutes:

Olivier Giroud – 6/10

Came on for the final 20 minutes in place for Lacazette, but did not do much to affect the game.

Theo Walcott – 6/10

Came on for Iwobi and did not do much with 20 minutes on the clock. We could be seeing the demise of his Arsenal career.

Mohamed Elneny – N/A

Came on too late to affect the game, but kept it tight in midfield to shield the defence from the late barrage of Brighton attacks.