Arsenal returned to winning ways on Thursday night as they secured a 2-0 triumph over AC Milan in the Europa League round of 16 first-leg at San Siro.
Both sides had chances to score over the course of the game, but the Gunners showed more ruthlessness with goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey in the first-half sealing the victory.
Player Ratings:
David Ospina: Secured the Gunners’ first clean sheet in five appearances. The Colombian had a relatively easy evening at the Giuseppe Meazza with the Rossoneri restricted mainly to attempts from outside the box – 7/10
Calum Chambers: Probably one of his best performances of the season. Chambers looked assured on the right side of the defence, and he managed to restrict the movement of Hakan Calhanoglu. Was also a presence in the attack front – 7/10
Shkodran Mustafi: The German was reactive to any long balls in his half. Made a couple of notable errors but did not cost his side greatly, owing to the poor finishing of their opponents – 6.5/10
Laurent Koscielny: The skipper produced a dominating presence at the heart of the defence, and rarely allowed the opposition past him. He will be hoping to continue in the same vein of form for the return leg – 7.5/10
Sead Kolasinac – Kolasinac was not much of a threat in the attack front, but he managed to contain Suso from getting into shooting range. Was injured during the latter stages of the game – 7/10
Granit Xhaka – One of his most assured performances in the centre of the park. Xhaka held his position without wandering forward carelessly, other than his wayward shot at the end – 7.5/10
Aaron Ramsey – Played in a deeper central midfield role, but this did not limit him from making his tireless runs. The Welshman timed his movement perfectly to score the second goal of the game – 8/10
Jack Wilshere – Featuring in the so-called number 10 role, Wilshere was not at his fluent best. He still managed to produce a flawless performance which was demanded for the game – 7/10
Mesut Ozil – The German had received plenty of stick for his average performances of late, but this was not the case versus Milan. Ozil assisted both of Arsenal’s goals, the latter with a brilliant through ball for Ramsey – 8/10
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – Mkhitaryan looked lively from the off against Milan, and he capped his performance with the opener, which was deflected into the net. Mkhitaryan had another effort which hit the woodwork – 8.5/10
Danny Welbeck- The Englishman proved a better presence upfront than in recent European outings. Welbeck had one clear-cut chance to score, but could not slot the ball past Donnarumma – 6.5/10
Substitutes:
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 7/10
Rob Holding – 6/10
Mohamed Elneny – N/A
Europa League player ratings [Arsenal]: AC Milan 0-2 Arsenal
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