Arsenal secured a 2-1 win over Everton at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening to move top of the Premier League table for the first time in over a year-and-a-half.
The Gunners were able to continue to build on their momentum after their mid-week win over Bayern Munich, and they will hope to prolong their current form for as long as possible.
Olivier Giroud was on the scoresheet for Arsene Wenger’s side against the visitors, see how both he and his teammates fared in our player assessment below:
Petr Cech – 7/10
Nothing he could do for Ross Barkley’s goal due to the fortunate deflection. Dealt with the threat when called upon, and made a crucial save late on to deny Gerard Deulofeu.
Hector Bellerin – 7/10
The Spaniard’s tactical awareness and vision on the ball is improving to add to his pace and threat down the right flank.
Gabriel – 7/10
Unfortunate to deflect Barkley’s effort past Cech, but did well to limit Romelu Lukaku’s influence on the game and capped it off with a significant tackle on the Belgian in added time.
Laurent Koscielny – 7/10
Combined with Gabriel to keep things relatively tight at the back, scored the all-important goal to seal the three points.
Nacho Monreal – 6/10
Rarely beaten in one-on-one situations, the Spaniard continues to be a reliable presence down the left hand side.
Santi Cazorla – 7/10
Business as usual for the diminutive Spaniard, as he produced another smart performance with an inch-perfect delivery for Koscielny’s winner.
Francis Coquelin – 6/10
Another important performance from the combative midfielder who was a menace for Everton all game with his closing down and tenacious nature.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6/10
In for Aaron Ramsey, the England international’s pace was a threat on the break in particular but will take time to get to his best.
Mesut Ozil – 7/10
Another game, another assist. The playmaker’s perfect delivery for Olivier Giroud helped open the scoring, and he was bitterly unlucky not to add a third late on when striking the post.
Alexis Sanchez – 6/10
Caused problems for the Everton backline throughout, but wasn’t perhaps one of his better games as he was unable to have a decisive impact.
Olivier Giroud – 7/10
The Frenchman is in great goalscoring form whether he’s on the bench or not. Great finish to break the deadlock and could have had more.
Substitutes
Mathieu Flamini – 5/10
Missed a chance to make the game safe, but otherwise did a decent job in final 10 minutes or so.
Kieran Gibbs – 5/10
Came on with just a few minutes remaining, not enough time to have a say on the result.