Arsenal vs Cardiff: Player ratings as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette seal uninspired home win

Arsenal

Bernd Leno 6/10

First called into action in the 81st minute when he made a save from Cardiff substitute Kenneth Zohore. Otherwise had basically nothing to do, and did it fairly well until he conceded to Nathaniel Mendez-Laing at the death.

Stephan Lichtsteiner 4/10

As an ineffective, ageing reservist signed on a free transfer he is doing a decent imitation of Mathieu Flamini, though Flamini was better. Brought off early in the second half for Carl Jenkinson.

Shkodran Mustafi 6/10

Dealt relatively well with Cardiff’s robust attentions and did well to muster a makeshift defence.

Nacho Monreal 7/10

Played out of position at centre back and helped to keep a clean sheet. Fair play.

Sead Kolasinac 8/10

Reinvented as Arsenal’s best crosser and most creative defender under Unai Emery, he swished in dangerous balls from the left flank without anyone getting on the end of them. Then made the run in behind onto Iwobi’s delightful through-ball and won the penalty which sent Arsenal on their way.

Lucas Torreira 6/10

An effective midfield shield as ever, this wasn’t a standout game for him as much as it was a quiet case of ‘job done’.

Mohamed Elneny 4/10

Brought off at half time for Alex Iwobi after one of the utterly nondescript performances for which he has become (not particularly) famous.

Matteo Guendouzi 7/10

Made manifest the feelings of all Arsenal fans at the end of the first half when he was booked for dissent by Mike Dean, which was nonetheless a bit stupid. Did his thing, played with high energy and drew fouls from left, right and centre.

Mesut Ozil 6/10

Had his moments creatively but still not at top confidence. Will have been pleased to captain the side after his spell in the wilderness, but still has a way to go to convince Emery to start him every game.

Alexandre Lacazette 8/10

Unlucky not to get a penalty in the first half after a raking challenge from Bruno Ecuele Manga down the back of his ankle, not that he was in a particularly dangerous position on the edge of the area. Spent the first half fizzing about, snatching at half chances and pinging the ball around with little to show for it, but looked threatening for much of the second before scoring a fantastic solo goal to seal the win.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 6/10

Looked isolated and cut adrift for much of the match, with Arsenal’s inability to get him involved and create more chances for him becoming a bit of a worry. Did score from the spot when called upon, however, and always has a goal in him even when he isn’t at his best.

Cardiff

Neil Etheridge 5/10

Couldn’t do anything about Aubameyang’s cool penalty, but did make a good save from Iwobi not long afterwards. For Lacazette’s goal, conceded from a tight angle and allowed the ball to bounce under him.

Joe Bennett 5/10

The less frazzled of Cardiff’s full-backs come the end of the game.

Sol Bamba 5/10

Failed to stop Lacazette’s solo goal at source despite attempting to take him down with a foul. Otherwise solid in the face of Arsenal’s attack, but not great.

Bruno Ecuele Manga 3/10

Should have been penalised after his clumsy rake down Lacazette’s Achilles just inside the box in the first half, but got away with it. Managed to actually give away a penalty in the second half, this after a similarly clumsy hack on Kolasinac.

Lee Peltier 4/10

Struggled with Arsenal’s overlapping attacks and allowed Kolasinac to get past him on the flank time and time again.

Joe Ralls 4/10

Booked for a foul on Guendouzi late on, which was his main contribution to the game.

Aron Gunnarsson 5/10

The avatar of Neil Warnock’s no-nonsense midfield, he managed to frustrate Arsenal initially but, along with his teammates, eventually faded.

Harry Arter 4/10

Booked for a nasty challenge on Guendouzi in the second half which could be filed under the label ‘dark yellow’. Declined in effectiveness as Cardiff’s spoiling job in midfield began to unravel and brought off for Kadeem Harris late on.

Callum Paterson 4/10

May have been reimagined as a centre forward for much of this season but, deployed on the right side of midfield, showed all the grace of a meat-and-potatoes centre back. Sent a couple of shots sailing wide and high and was booked for a follow-through on Lichtsteiner in the first half.

Bobby Reid 5/10

Tried his best, had very little impact and was brought off for Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.

Oumar Niasse 6/10

Got in behind the Arsenal defence a couple of times and looked like Cardiff’s most dangerous attacker. Still, on a night when they did barely anything going forward, that’s not saying much. Subbed off for Kenneth Zohore with 20 minutes to play.

Substitutes

Alex Iwobi 8/10

Provided a brilliant through-ball for Kolasinac which resulted in Arsenal penalty. Could have scored himself not long afterwards. Made the requisite impact, in stark contrast to Elneny.

Carl Jenkinson 6/10

Not Stephan Lichtsteiner. All hail the Brexit Cafu.

Aaron Ramsey 6/10

Had a couple of nice, driving runs forward but generally limited to a supporting role after coming on for Ozil. Could have scored a header late on after he was teed up by Lacazette.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing 7/10

Came on, ran about, scored a decent consolation.

Kenneth Zohore 6/10

Had Cardiff’s first shot on target, so gets an extra mark for an otherwise shrug-worthy cameo.

Kadeem Harris 5/10

Only on for the last 10 minutes or so, leaving him with little time to affect the game.