It seems as though most people are naming Alexis Sanchez as their Man of the Match after Arsenal beat Middlesborough to end the dreadful run of away defeats in the Premier League, but I thought the Chilean had a pretty poor night in general, even though he did score the opener with a nice free kick and played a part in the winner. For me it was Mesut Ozil, one of the stars of the euro 2016 tournament, who made the most impact and played better throughout, including a sweet strike with his wrong foot to win the points.
Cech 6 – No chance with Negredo goal but otherwise good and huge save from Ayala header.
Gabriel 6 – Stood up well after very early booking.
Koscielny 6 – At fault for goal but marshalled new system pretty well.
Holding 6 – Very impressive to say it was his first game in ages.
Oxlade-Chamberlain 7 – Gave absolutely everything which Arsenal badly need.
Monreal 6 – At fault for goal but got forward as much as possible.
Xhaka 5 – Apart from winning free kick he added almost nothing.
Ramsey 6.5 – Slow star but got better and key chest down for winner.
Ozil 8 – Showed his class but more importantly the work rate and desire we want.
Alexis 7.5 – His touch and radar was off but still played a key role. Loved his reaction at the end.
Giroud 6 – Should have had clear penalty but got little change from defence.
subs:
Coquelin and Bellerin 6 – Both did alright and helped to see out the result.