How we rated the Arsenal side during their FA Cup third round victory over Hull City at the Emirates Stadium.
One of the showpiece fixtures of the FA Cup third round proved to be something of a damp squib as Arsenal and Hull City failed to rekindle the excitement of last season’s final at the Emirates Stadium, but Arsene Wenger’s side will be happy to have progressed into the next stage.
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This is how we rated the Gunners squad in their cup triumph:
GK) David Ospina 7 – Ospina looked commanding and assured in all that he did but, in truth, Hull never put him under a great deal of pressure.
RB) Hector Bellerin 6 – Did fine defensively, but the Spaniard was disappointingly subdued going forwards considering some of his previous displays.
CB) Calum Chambers 6 – Chambers was barely noticed during the course of a game, but that is not a terrible thing for a centre back.
CB) Per Mertesacker 8 – The German played really well at the heart of the Arsenal defence, marshaling his troops well and popping up with the vital opening goal.
LB) Nacho Monreal 6 – Much like Bellerin on the opposite side, Monreal was solid but didn’t offer a great deal in attack.
CM) Francis Coquelin 7 – Coquelin did a lot of good things when it came to breaking up play, but the young Frenchman did give the ball away once or twice too often. Fortunate not to be sent off.
CM) Tomas Rosicky 7 – Played in a deeper role than he has tended to in his career and it worked relatively well – he linked up very well with Alexis.
ARM) Theo Walcott 6 – On his first start back from injury, Walcott’s movement was all there but he did look rusty – missed two good chances after getting in behind the Hull rearguard.
ACM) Santi Cazorla 7 – Cazorla looks at his best in this central role and, whilst he was only peripherally involved here, plenty of it was good stuff.
ALM) Joel Campbell 5 – Was given a chance to show what he can do but will be disappointed with his efforts – nothing the Costa Rican tried came off.
SC) Alexis Sanchez 8 – Sanchez is simply a brilliant footballer and looked head and shoulders above anyone else on the pitch – his goal was a thing of beauty.
SUB) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 6 – Had one electrifying run that was only ended when he was crudely hacked down by the Hull defence, that seemed to leave him injured.
SUB) Chuba Akpom 6 – Was good for the Emirates Stadium crowd to see one of the club’s academy prospects get a run out.
SUB) Ainsley Maitland-Niles 6 – As with Akpom, good to see a teenage Gunner get on the pitch.
MAN) Arsene Wenger 8 – Wenger will be delighted with his side’s work. He showed the cup some respect with a pretty strong side and it paid off for him.
