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Aston Villa logo
Premier League
Sep 20, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Arsenal logo

0-3

FT(HT: 0-3)
Ozil (33'), Welbeck (34'), Cissokho (36' og.)

Player Ratings: Arsenal 0-3 Aston Villa

Sports Mole rates the performances of each of the players involved in Arsenal's 3-0 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park.

Arsenal claimed their first victory since the opening day of the Premier League season with a comfortable 3-0 win away at Aston Villa this afternoon.

All of their goals came in the space of three first-half minutes. Mesut Ozil opened the scoring, before Danny Welbeck opened his account for the Gunners. Then, the outcome was put beyond any doubt when Villa defender Aly Cissokho turned the ball into his own net from close range.

Here, Sports Mole has looked back over the contest to rate the performances of each of the players that was on show at Villa Park.


Villa

Arsenal's German midfielder Mesut Ozil shoots to score the opening goal during the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on September 20, 2014© Getty Images

Goal

Brad Guzan: The American is probably still wondering what an earth happened to him out there. Arsenal had three shots on target and he conceded from two of them, while his own player also beat him. To be fair to Guzan, he couldn't have done much to prevent any of those. (6/10)

Defence

Alan Hutton: It was a steady display from the right-back, although he did allow Ozil an easy cross for Arsenal's second goal of the contest. (6/10)

Philippe Senderos: The former Arsenal centre-back has defended so well this season, but his lack of pace was badly exposed today. Time and again he was left trailing in Welbeck's wake. (5/10)

Ciaran Clark: Included in the team for the first time this season to cover the injured Ron Vlaar and ill Nathan Baker, it was an afternoon to forget for Clark. He spurned a really good chance to break the deadlock just before Arsenal went goal crazy. (5/10)

Aly Cissokho: The own goal pretty much summed up Cissokho's performance. He looked a little nervy in possession throughout the contest. (5/10)

Midfield

Fabian Delph: He started brightly with a low shot that had to be tipped wide, but after suffering a knee injury following a challenge with Mikel Arteta, he struggled to make an impact on proceedings. (6/10)

Carlos Sanchez: The Colombian was included in the starting lineup late on to replaced an ill Ashley Westwood and he did look a little off the pace. To be fair to the midfielder, it's not ideal to be thrown into the action with little time to spare. (6/10)

Tom Cleverley: The loan switch to Villa seems to have given the Manchester United player a bit of confidence. He showed a good range of passing, as well as a decent set-piece delivery, which included the cross that Clark should have scored from. (7/10)

Kieran Richardson: He didn't really do much wrong, but at the same time, his performance was nothing to write home about. It was little surprise when he was replaced. (6/10)

Attack

Andreas Weimann: The Austrian worked hard during the opening 45 minutes to force the Arsenal players into making mistakes, but he had very little impact in an attacking sense. He replaced at half-time with a suspected injury (6/10)

Gabriel Agbonlahor: Given the responsibility of the captaincy again, Agbonlahor did try to use his pace to lead from the front. Unfortunately for him, when Weimann went off, he was badly lacking in support. (6/10)

Substitutes

Jack Grealish: The 19-year-old replaced Weimann and to his credit, he was positive and caused some problems to Calum Chambers. His showing was one of the view bright points for Villa. (7/10)

Charles N'Zogbia: He probably should have come on sooner, but with Arsenal keeping the ball with ease, there were no opportunities for the winger to show his skill. (6/10)

Leandro Bacuna: The winger came on with only a couple of minutes left to spare and barely had a touch. (5/10)


Arsenal

Arsenal's English striker Danny Welbeck shoots to score their second goal during the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on September 20, 2014© Getty Images

Goal

Wojciech Szczesny The Pole was called into action really early on to deny Fabian Delph and Ciaran Clark with smart stops, but after that, he was a spectator. (6/10)

Defence

Kieran Gibbs When fit, the left-back gives Arsenal some genuine pace down the flank. He got forward well today and it was his attempted shot that Cissokho put into his own net. (7/10)

Per Mertesacker: The German is by no means the quickest of centre-backs, but he seemed to drop a little deeper to cope with the pace of Agbonlahor, which worked well. (6/10)

Laurent Koscielny: Along with his partner in crime Mertesacker, the Frenchman produced a positive defence display up against Agbonlahor. (6/10)

Calum Chambers: Having spent most of the season at right-back, Chambers was asked to play at right-back today. By and large he did okay, but was booked for a late challenge. (6/10)

Midfield

Mikel Arteta: The Spaniard will be hoping that he has a few more easy outings like this one. Sitting at the base of the midfield, he passed the ball around with real ease. (7/10)

Aaron Ramsey: The Wales international performed better than in recent weeks, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. He spurned one or two chances that last season he would probably have converted. (6/10)

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Put into the team late as a replacement for Alexis Sanchez, Oxlade-Chamberlain shone. He used his pace to good effect and linked well with his teammates. (7/10)

Santi Cazorla: Recalled to the starting lineup after a spell on the bench, the playmaker was by no means at his best, but he did provide a creative element to proceedings. (6/10)

Mesut Ozil: The German had plenty of critics heading into this clash, but they will have been silenced somewhat as he ended the game with a goal and an assist. (8/10)

Attack

Danny Welbeck: One thing is for sure, the £16m man needed that goal. It was a real poacher's finish from Welbeck, who also assisted Ozil for the game's first goal with a clever pass. All in all it was a very lively showing from the England international. (8/10)

Substitutes

Jack Wilshere: The only thing that the midfielder did of any note after he had replaced Ramsey was receive a booking for a late sliding challenge on Hutton. (5/10)

Lukas Podolski: Was involved in some neat and tidy passing after his second-half introduction, but seemed to struggle after being fouled by Clark. (6/10)

Tomas Rosicky: The midfielder barely touched the ball after coming onto the field. (5/10)


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Santi Cazorla of Arsenal is challenged during the Barclays Premier League match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park on September 20, 2014
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