Goals from Lucas Perez and Theo Walcott ensured that the Gunners booked their place into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over Sutton United, at the Borough Sports Ground on Monday night. The victory for Arsene Wenger’s men ended the fairytale run of the South London club despite a resilient display against an Arsenal side that weren’t at their very best.
Arsenal Player Ratings
David Ospina – 4/10– Having conceded five against Bayern Munich in his last outing, the Arsenal shot-stopper looked shaky, nervy, and indecisive, making many mistakes that he was lucky to get away with keeping a clean sheet.
Nacho Monreal- 7/10– Was energetic and lively down the left flank, involved in setting up the second goal with a good square cross and also defended well. Did exceptionally to block an effort from Gomis.
Gabriel Paulista- 6/10– Was initially caught off guard by the pace of Deacon but later managed to improve on his performance and put in a good shift.
Rob Holding-6/10– The young Arsenal defender was strong and he defended well but was a little bit sloppy when he had the ball, overall, he did a good job for Wenger.
Shkodran Mustafi-6/10– Was caused a few problems by the pace of Deacon and Biamou but commanded the Arsenal defense in the absence of Koscielny, and he got better as the game progressed.
Jeff Reine-Adelaide- 6/10– The19-year-old was neat and tidy in midfield but lacked composure in the attacking third.
Granit Xhaka- 7/10– Unsurprisingly, he was the first player to get booked in the game, but provided solidarity and control in the Arsenal midfield and got the assist for Lucas Perez’s opener for his side.
Mohammad Elneny-6/10– Was energetic and lively but had to be taken off at half-time after he suffered an injury.
Alex Iwobi-6.5/10– Linked up well with his team-mates, but missed a few easy chances to get himself on the score sheet.
Theo Walcott-8/10– The Englishman got his deserved 100th goal for the club after a good display in attack and scored when he timed a run perfectly in the second half.
Lucas Perez-8/10– Got himself some much-needed game-time and looked like a threat throughout the match, also scored the opening goal with a curling effort from the right which boosted his confidence.
Substitutes-
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain-6/10– Made really powerful, energetic runs from deep like his usual self but missed the opportunity to score a third in the game late on.
Alexis Sanchez-6/10– Was sent in just to satisfy his pedigree of playing every game and he did showboat his world-class skills.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles-5/10– Could not have a big impact on the game. Did his job decently well.