Mathieu Flamini – 7/10
Mathieu Flamini doesn’t pass the ball as well as Mikel Arteta, who was ruled out the game with a calf injury.
When the game became scrappy, Flamini took on the challenge emphatically, and charged around the battlefield like a man possessed.
Jack Wilshere – 9/10
Aaron Ramsey discovered his goalscoring form this season – and so too has Jack Wilshere. The England midfielder fired home a precise finish with little backlift after a fine move, and less than a minute later had provided a glorious assist for Olivier Giroud.
Supplied the quality in crucial moments, the tenacity when the going got tough, and – perhaps most importantly – is showing signs of finding his turn of pace of two years ago.
Competition for places at Arsenal appears to be helping Jack Wilshere.
Santi Cazorla – 6/10
Santi Cazorla was involved in plenty of the Gunners’ best moves in the first half, but just when he appeared to be approaching his old form, he made a terrible error to give Aston Villa the ball, and the home side subsequently took advantage and scored.
Has some way to go to hitting his heights of last term.
Serge Gnabry – 7/10
Arsene Wenger said before the game that Serge Gnabry had a good chance of securing a place in Germany’s squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Mature performances like tonight’s won’t do his chances any harm, as the teenager slotted into Theo Walcott’s position in impressive fashion, contributing as much in defensive duties as he did going forward.
Mesut Ozil – 6/10
It has been known for a while that Mesut Ozil drifts in and out of games, and the German superstar was not at his best against Aston Villa.
However, in almost every match, Ozil supplies at least one moment of major quality, and his through ball for Nacho Monreal to run onto to assist Jack Wilshere’s opener was a perfect example.
He might not be there all game, but he almost always helps make the difference.
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