Arsenal hosted Everton in Sunday's 2.05pm afternoon kick-off at The Emirates, as Arsene Wenger's men looked to bounce back from a rather disappointing 3-1 defeat at the hands of Ligue 1 side AS Monaco in their first leg UEFA Champions League tie. Despite a nervy start to the game, The Gunners got into the swing of things towards the end of the first-half and a well-placed effort by French striker Olivier Giroud opened the scoring before the half-time interval.
Despite Everton's sustained pressure at the start of the second 45, Arsenal defended their lead well; something they rarely do in-fact. Substitute and experienced Czech Republic midfielder Tomas Rosicky made it 2-0 in the latter stages with a deflected effort, to ultimately kill off the game.
1. Hector Bellerin is rapidly developing into a great young full-back
The 19-year-old Spaniard was promoted at the start of the season, after some impressive displays in the Emirates Cup. Given Arsenal's injury problems, Wenger took a risk in playing Bellerin in some of Arsenal's important fixtures thus far this campaign - something which has paid off.
Today, he proved his importance to the cause with some important defensive challenges in key areas of the pitch to deny the likes of Barkley and Mirallas going forward as much as they would have liked to. He was explosive on the flanks going forward, using his electric pace to his advantage as he proved an attacking threat on the right-hand side of the pitch, when the Gunners pushed forward, albeit not very frequently.
2. Olivier Giroud's goal came at just the right time following his poor display in midweek
After his disappointing display against AS Monaco on Wednesday night, it was imperative that Giroud silenced his critics for another week with a decent performance against the Toffees today. He recorded sixshots against the Ligue 1 outfit, none of which were on target, as Arsenal faltered at home and managed to lose against a side they'd have been expecting to beat beforehand.
Today, he broke the deadlock with an accomplished finish which Tim Howard could get nowhere near, and despite picking up a yellow card at the start of the second-half, used his height and agility to trouble the Everton backline constantly throughout.
3. Gabriel looks promising in defence
Following his £11million pound switch from La Liga side Villarreal in the January transfer window, Gabriel has yet to really get his opportunity in the first-team, apart from an FA Cup start against Championship club Middlesbrough - where he had an encouraging display but looked shaky at points also.
He was solid playing in central defence against Romelu Lukaku alongside Laurent Koscielny in a four-at-the-back formation, and the Brazilian did well to keep the Belgian powerhouse at bay. One of his best moments, was without a doubt a last-ditch sliding challenge which he performed inside the area in the first-half, as the former Chelsea man was looking to shoot towards Ospina from close range.
With Per Mertesacker under-fire after his poor display in midweek, Gabriel took his chance and made Wenger proud with a good performance despite many news reports suggesting he'd struggle given his distinct lack of English speaking at the moment.
4. Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alexis the workaholics in an efficient Arsenal midfield cog
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alexis Sanchez are arguably the most hard-working players for The Gunners, and they were good again against Roberto Martinez's men. The latter continously pressed the Everton midfielders when chasing possession, especially in the first-half when Arsenal were forced to defend for the majority of the 45 minutes.
Whenever Oxlade-Chamberlain loses the ball, he always chases the ball with high intensity to try and retrieve possession, something he did impressively again for Arsenal on Sunday. Defensively, he was solid as he made some crucial challenges on the flank and won his individual battles near the byline throughout going forward on the attack.
Alexis meanwhile, did not get on the scoresheet but put in another impressive shift for the team both when defending and going forward.
5. Ospina encouraging once more in Gunners goal
The Colombian goalkeeper kept yet another clean sheet, in a commanding performance overall. Szczesny will be watching on from the substitutes' bench, with uncertainty over his future - given the fact that Arsenal have already made his main competitior a fan favourite following his summer move from Ligue 1 side Nice after the 2014 World Cup.
He made a few top stops to deny the likes of Lennon and Lukaku, keeping his clean sheet intact throughout. Also, he was not afraid to put his body around and made some last-ditch "sweeper keeper" moves, rushing off his line and making a "defender's sliding tackle" in the first-half before he smartly won a free-kick as Lukaku barged him for the ball in a second-half aerial challenge. Impressive once more.
