Considering Arsenal’s last 3 games against Burnley have been hard-fought and won within the final minutes, a 5-0 thrashing was certainly a welcome result. Everybody played to the script for Wenger’s Emirates finale as Burnley were about as effective as a wet paper bag and the Gunners put on one of their best performances of the season. Let’s check out the ratings…
Petr Cech – 8
Cech had very little to do all game long and probably could’ve pulled out a lawn chair to bask in the North London sun for a better part of the game. He only had to make 2 saves, and he did well when those ill-advised back passes started to come his way.
Hector Bellerin – 8.5
His effectiveness upfront has been fairly sporadic all season long, but this was his best performance yet as he assisted each of the two “strikers”. His crosses seemed more thought out than they usually are, although maybe that’s just a symptom of having so much time and space down the flank.
Sead Kolasinac – 8
This was the type of performance that turned Kolasinac into a cult hero in the early weeks of the season. He caused problems for an overwhelmed Claret defence all game long. He sure does love cutting into the box to score his signature goal, a hulk-like blast into the far corner. He didn’t have much to do in defence.
Calum Chambers – 8
After an inconsistent start to the year, that’s now 3 improved performances from Chambers. While there’s nothing else to play for, these final two games will still be very interesting. Can these defenders close out the season strongly in two away games, where they often struggle?
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 8.5
In modern football, you can often track down video of the first performance that brought a player onto the big stage. This was one of those performances. Mavropanos took no prisoners as he went on to win the ball back 8 times, a team-high. He also had 6 clearances, 4 interceptions, and 5 aerial duels won. Trust me, he will be a household name soon enough.
Granit Xhaka – 7.5
Xhaka’s 8 out of 10 completed long balls were a big part of his game today. His ability to start an attack from deep is seriously underrated. He completed 85 out of 90 passes overall and did his defending duties as well.
Jack Wilshere – 7
Jack sensed blood in the water early on and put in a great shift. Burnley had no answer in the midfield to stop him from eating up all of the open space. He had a great assist for Kolasinac’s goal as well. If he finishes the season strong, that’ll make this summer and his contract situation even more complicated.
Alex Iwobi – 8
You’ve got to feel for Iwobi as an Arsenal fan. He’s been struggling for form recently so that goal had to be a huge sigh of relief for him. He also had 2 dribbles.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 7
Mkhitaryan’s 3 dribbles led the team and he was the only gunner with at least one key pass to not be directly involved in a goal. He came close to scoring when his curled shot went barely wide of the post. This doesn’t mean he had a bad game though, as 3 key passes and 3 dribbles are a great return.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 9.5
Aubameyang moving out wide has had me concerned that we’re wasting that great “fox in the box” talent. But, Lacazette and Aubameyang seem to have a great understanding which was illustrated in Aubameyang’s first goal. As Lacazette moved out wide, Aubameyang shifted in and got on the end of Lacazette’s assist. He later assisted Iwobi, and then scored a great goal for the team’s 5th. The cherry on top of his MOTM performance was him forgoing a possible hattrick to supply his teammates looking for a 6th goal. Gotta love this guy.
Alexandre Lacazette – 9
I was afraid how the Laca-Auba partnership would work, but it’s been nothing short of great. That’s now 14 goals and 5 assists between the two in their last 8 performances. Laca had a goal, assist, and a team-high of 4 key passes. It’s hard not to be excited about this pair next season.
Aaron Ramsey – 7
Came on for a bit and didn’t do anything wrong.
Danny Welbeck – 7
Came on for a bit and smacked an absolute screamer against the corner of the goal.
Per Mertesacker – 10
It was incredibly touching to see him receive such a great reception along with Arsene, and he didn’t do too bad either. The atmosphere was so great I think I would’ve been able to hear the Emirates from across the pond had Mertesacker been able to score a final Arsenal goal.
We’re saying goodbye to 2 Arsenal legends today. However, Per will be sticking around to head the Academy and do we really think Arsene is going to stay away for long?
