EPL 2017/18: Arsenal 2-0 West Brom

Alexandre Lacazette scored in both halves as Arsenal beat West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates Stadium.

The France international broke the deadlock with a header in the 20th minute, before tucking home a penalty after Allan Nyom had fouled Aaron Ramsey after the interval.

Arsenal subsequently moved up to the seventh spot in the standings, while West Brom remain four points clear of the relegation zone.

Here's a quick look at the player ratings for both teams:

Arsenal:

Petr Cech - 7/10

Cech produced a magnificent save to tip Jay Rodriguez’s shot onto the post early on. That was the goalkeeper’s standout moment of the night, but he did everything else he had to do for the remainder of the game.

Shkodran Mustafi - 6/10

The World Cup winner was fortunate not to concede a penalty early on, when he brought down Jay Rodriguez in the box. Mustafi looked nervous for much of the first half but did grow more assured after the interval.

Laurent Koscielny - 7/10

Arsenal generally looked shaky at the back in the first half, but Koscielny and his defensive team-mates improved as the game wore on. The Frenchman was a little sloppy in possession on occasions, but he did win nine of his aerial duels.

Nacho Monreal - 8/10

The Spaniard saved a certain goal with a terrific goal-line clearance in the 38th minute, when he hooked Jay Rodriguez’s header behind for a corner. This was a typically solid and dependable showing from one of Arsenal’s most consistent performers.

Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion - Premier League

Hector Bellerin - 7/10

Did not exert as much attacking influence on the match as might have been expected, but this was another quietly impressive showing from the Spaniard. His pace is a real asset in both phases of the game.

Mohamed Elneny - 8/10

Elneny is a tidy passer of the ball and a player who can contribute both in and out of possession, as he demonstrated against Tony Pulis’ charges. The Egyptian knitted the side together with his passing and generally made the right decisions.

Granit Xhaka - 6/10

Xhaka is a fine long-range passer, but some of his distribution over shorter differences was poor on Monday night. He did improve a little in the second half, though, but perhaps should have done better when Olivier Giroud laid the ball into his path late on.

Sead Kolasinac - 7/10

This was a quiet game by Kolasinac’s recent standards, with the former Schalke man a little subdued in an attacking sense. He fulfilled his defensive duties really well, however, and was strong in both the air and the tackle.

Aaron Ramsey - 9/10

Deployed in a more advanced role in the Gunners’ 3-4-2-1 formation, Ramsey did brilliantly to the penalty which was converted by Alexandre Lacazette. The Welshman showed some excellent touches throughout and caused problems with his driving runs.

Alexis Sanchez - 7/10

Sanchez was not involved in the match for long periods of the first half, but he sprang to life in the second period. His close control and touch remain breathtaking, while he almost scored the first goal with a well-struck free-kick.

Alexandre Lacazette - 9/10

Arsenal’s new No.9 varied his movement intelligently, sometimes dropping deep between the lines and on other occasions sprinting in behind the West Brom backline. It was he who reacted quickest when Ben Foster pushed Alexis Sanchez’s free-kick onto the bar, heading the loose ball home to break the deadlock, before converting from the penalty spot in the second half.

Substitutes:

Mesut Ozil – N/A

Ozil was introduced too late in the game to be given an accurate grade.

Olivier Giroud – N/A

Laid the ball off smartly for Granit Xhaka in the 87th minute, but did not have enough time to make an impact.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles – N/A

The youngster came on with just a few seconds remaining.

West Bromwich Albion:

Ben Foster - 6/10

Foster could have done little to keep out Alexandre Lacazette’s header having just tipped Alexis Sanchez’s header onto the bar, even if the ball was nodded in his direction. The Baggies custodian, who drew the ire of Arsenal fans for perceived time-wasting in the opening period, was also unable to keep out the Frenchman’s second-half penalty.

Craig Dawson - 5/10

Dawson was guilty of getting too tight to Arsenal’s attackers at times, with Alexis Sanchez rolling him on more than one occasion. He also looked uncomfortable when forced to decide whether to track Alexandre Lacazette or pass him on to a team-mate.

Ahmed Hegazi - 7/10

This was a typically robust and aggressive performance from the Egyptian centre-back, who tried to defend on the front foot whenever possible. He won 75 percent of his duels and made more interceptions (five) and clearances (five) than any of his colleagues.

Jonny Evans - 6/10

This was a mixed performance from Evans, who had both good and bad moments on Monday night. The former Manchester United defender read the game well and played some positive passes forward, but he also made a handful of errors at different stages of the match.

Nyom was at fault for the second goal West Brom conceded, clumsily bundling Aaron Ramsey to the floor on the left-hand side of the box. It was generally an evening to forget for the right-back.

Jake Livermore - 4/10

The England international missed a brilliant chance to open the scoring early on, firing wide after Jay Rodriguez’s shot came back off the post. Of West Brom’s midfield three, it was Livermore who looked to get up and support the front two whenever possible, but his distribution was rather sloppy throughout.

Grzegorz Krychowiak - 7/10

Krychowiak did a good job of carrying the ball forward in transition, while he also offered a physical presence in the defensive phase of play. No West Brom player made more passes (36) than the Poland international.

Gareth Barry - 6/10

Barry broke Ryan Giggs’ all-time Premier league appearance record on Monday night, when he played his 633rd game in the top flight of English football. It was not his greatest display in the centre of the park, where West Brom were at times overrun by the hosts.

Kieran Gibbs - 6/10

Facing his former club for the first time, Gibbs turned in a decent performance in the first half but found things harder as the game became more stretched after the interval.

Jay Rodriguez - 7/10

Rodriguez could have had a penalty early on, when he hit the post moments after being brought down by Shkodran Mustafi. He was a willing runner at the top of the pitch and had four shots in total, but was unable to find the net.

Hal Robson-Kanu - 6/10

Robson-Kanu was quieter than his strike partner, but he still caused problems in the first half with some well-timed runs. The Wales international faded as the game grew older, though.

Substitutes:

Salomon Rondon - 6/10

Rondon struggled to get into the game, but that was largely because West Brom struggled to win possession and were penned back for much of the second half.

James Morrison - 6/10

Morrison replaced Jake Livermore as West Brom sought a route back into the game, but he did not make much of an impact.

Matt Phillips - 5/10

Phillips is usually a reliable crosser of the ball, but he was a little wasteful with his deliveries after coming on as a substitute.

Edited by Aakanksh Sanketh

EPL 2017/18: Arsenal 2-0 West Brom - Player Ratings

Arsenal:

West Bromwich Albion: