Wojciech Szczęsny- 8/10
Almost entirely untested in the second half, his massive save from Clark’s header kept the door open for Arsenal to strike first. Made up for mistakes midweek against Borussia Dortmund. Also gained a clean sheet from the game and his mere 2 saves from him showed how one sided the game was.
Calum Chambers- 7.5/10
Chambers is a quality backup at right back, but his maturity and decision-making is still lacking. He Could have been sent off midway through the second by picking up a yellow, but cooled off in the final minutes and used his physicality intelligently. Good performance from the youngster.
Per Mertesacker - 8/10
While the quality dip from Dortmund footballers to Villa footballers certainly helped, Mertesacker was again the pillar Arsenal fans are used to seeing in the middle. Got down well to head away a couple crosses in and did well to manage the speed of Agbonlahor with Koscielny. His passing was also a great contributing factor in how Arsenal attacked with a succesful pass completion percentage of 99.1% from 109 passes.
Kieran Gibbs - 7.8/10
Did well to contain Agbonlahor on the left, and impressed as he retained his full-back slot over Monreal. An assist to his name, was dangerous on the flank when Arsenal went on the counter attack and a solid defensive contribution also. He was also the one who got the shot in which was put into the own net of Villa's by Cissokho, an extra goal that rewarded arsenals performance.
Laurent Koscielny - 7.7/10
Developing a tendency to play unnecessarily aggressive passes, but partnered well with Mertesacker. Kept threats to a minimum, albeit from a largely uninterested squad in the second half.
Oxlade-Chamberlain- 7.5
His pace and power was too much for the likes of Hutton as he impressed on a rare start presumably to rest sanchez for upcoming fixtures. Hopefully he'll get regular first-team action based on this display, giving defenders a handful with ease.
Mikel Arteta- 7.3/10
Enjoyed a better evening than in Germany. Having a midfielder next to him in a 4-2-3-1 system complements his qualities and disguises his weaknesses. Had the typical talks with the referee over some decisions as a captain does, however some uncharacteristically poor passes will mar the assessment of his performance.
Santi Carzola - 7.7/10
Played mainly on the left to make room for Ozil in the middle before switching to the right in the later stages. He’s in good form and a great player to have as an option on the left.
Mesut Ozil- 9/10 MOTM
The creator in midfield, always looking for a team-mate in space to feed the ball towards. Scored a goal and created Welbeck's goal in quick succession, reiterating the fact that he flourishes in the CAM position as opposed to LM where he appears to be wasted in. This performance of great quality from the German international won’t silence his critics, but it will sate them for an afternoon or so.
Aaron Ramsey 7.4/10
Did well in holding midfield, as he did the dirty work to break up Villa attacks in the centre and but his passing was far from his best, with one going out for a corner. Clearly exhausted in the later stages of his involvement, but played a wonderful ball to Ozil to set up a delicious cross for Arsenal’s second goal.
Danny Welbeck - 8.4/10
Manchester United's deadline day transfer move of Danny welbeck for £16m was far from the striker most Gunners would have thought Wenger would sign, But his trust in young players and their potential seems to be paying off with Welbeck earning a goal and an assist in todays game, signalling better things to come. He was energetic throughout, worked hard and got a goal to his name as a result. Was too fast for the likes of Hutton and Senderos as he impressed again after his deadline day move from United that could leave Louis Van gaal red- faced in a few years.
Subs, Wilshere, Podolski and Rosicky- N/A
Rosicky - Fiercely positive no matter when he’s deployed, there was little to be done against a Villa defence with no interest in getting forward.
Podolski- Got on the pitch, ran around a bit. Given current options, it’s going to be difficult to see any significant time in the German’s future.
Wilshere- There’s a case to be made for him to start next to Arteta instead of Ramsey given the recent form of both men. Didn’t have a great deal of time to exert his influence on proceedings. The brunt of his failed passes came from trying to start quick-hitting moves on the left with Podolski.
Manager Rating - Wenger- 9.5/10
Wenger scores a near perfect rating for his tactics and moreso for playing Ozil in his natural position behind the striker, which if he hadn't done today, the scoreline could have ended very differently. The reason he doesn't get a full 10 is because of his decision to play Arteta. He's a good player and his captaincy role on the pitch powered his team through the game but it could be argued that Wilshere should have got the edge over the start. In conclusion, If Ozil continues to play in the middle and spray passes to Welbeck and the people around him, don't be suprised if Arsenal don't lose a game for a while.