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[Ratings & goals] Arsenal 4-0 Norwich: Aubameyang & Ceballos star as Soares scores
Arsenal made it three wins on the bounce with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Norwich City at the Emirates this evening.
We broke the deadlock midway through the first half when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pounced on a mistake from Tim Krul as he tried to play it out from the back. The Gabon hitman intercepted the pass before slotting into an empty net for 1-0. The goal was very similar to Eddie Nketiah’s against Southampton so Arteta is clearly asking his strikers to pressurise the goalkeepers.
It didn’t take long for Arsenal to double their advantage and it was an excellent move that involved David Luiz and Kieran Tierney before Aubameyang teed-up Granit Xhaka to slot home for 2-0 in the 37th minute.
Aubameyang then made it 3-0 to Arsenal with a clinical finish in the 66th minute after Norwich defender Drmic passed straight to the striker following a throw-in. Cedric Soares then made a dream debut off the bench as he fired home a wonderful strike from the edge of the box to make it 4-0 just 2 minutes after coming on.
Here are my ratings:
Martinez 7/10 | Made a superb save to deny McLean from a free-kick just before half time. Produced another couple of routine saves to keep his clean sheet intact.
Mustafi 6/10 | Solid display from the German in the first half but was forced off at half-time.
Luiz 6.5/10 | Dominant in the air and didn’t give the Norwich strikers much room to cause any problems. Encouraging performance.
Kolasinac 6/10 | An improvement on his last outing in the back three. Had a couple of shaky moments but solid overall.
Bellerin 6/10 | Did reasonably well up and down the right flank but his decision making in the final third continues to frustrate. Under pressure for his position after Soares’ dream debut.
Xhaka 7/10 | Another good performance from the Swiss international. Kept things ticking over in midfield and even got himself on the scoresheet with a well taken finish to make it 2-0.
Ceballos 7.5/10 | Excellent in the first half when he was involved in everything. Always on the ball and did his bit defensively too. Moved the ball much quicker and was clearly on his game today. When he’s on it, Ceballos is a terrific player.
Tierney 7/10 | A top all-round performance. So comfortable on the ball, worked his socks off and a threat with his crossing in the final third. Will be a superb player for Arsenal if he can stay fit.
Nelson 6/10 | Didn’t really take his chance to impress. Always willing and worked hard to press the Norwich defence. However, didn’t do enough when he was on the ball to catch the eye.
Lacazette 6/10 | Missed a couple of half chances but worked hard and was always keen to get involved. Subbed.
Aubameyang 8.5/10 | Broke his goal-drought to open the scoring after pouncing on a mistake from Krul to tap into an empty net in the 33rd minute. The set-up Xhaka to make it 2-0 before another clinical finish made it 3-0 to take his tally to 19 for the season. Two goals and an assist. Where would we be without him?
Subs:
Holding 6/10 | No mistakes from Holding today, which was nice.
Willock 6.5/10 | Positive introduction. Worked hard and almost got himself a goal.
Soares 7/10 | Scored a lovely left-footed strike from 20 yards just minutes after coming on for his debut. Also looked solid defensively.
Nketiah 6/10 | Caused Norwich a few problems when he came on.
Pepe N/A | On too late.
Watch all the goals here: