[Player Ratings] Arsenal 4-1 Liverpool: Ozil 8, Sterling 6 – How The Players Rated

Arsenal moved up to second in the Premier League table with a 4-1 victory over Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon.

Hector Bellerin opened the scoring with a fine strike before Mesut Ozil made it 2-0 shortly after with a well-placed free-kick. Alexis Sanchez put the game out-of-sight for the visitors with a powerful third on the stroke of half-time.

Liverpool did pull one back via Jordan Henderson from the penalty spot but Arsenal sealed the three points with a wonderful late fourth from Olivier Giroud.

Here are player ratings:

Ospina  6.5/10 | Decent stop to deny Can early in the second half, but should have saved the Henderson penalty.

Bellerin  8/10 | Sensational finish for the opener and he was very good in defence. Although silly foul to give away penalty.

Mertesacker   7/10 | Very good positionally and used his experience to keep Liverpool at bay.

Koscielny   7/10 | Did well to deal with the pace of the Liverpool attack. Forced off injured a the start of the second half.

Monreal   6.5/10 | A solid outing from the ever-reliable Spaniard.

Coquelin  8/10 | Another excellent all-round performance. Protected the Arsenal back line by breaking up play and winning his challenges.

Cazorla  7/10 | Forced a great save from Mignolet early on and almost added a fourth when he hit the post near the end.

Ramsey  7/10 | Missed great chance to open the scoring but grabbed an assist for the Sanchez goal. Forced off with a knock.

Ozil  8/10 | Superb pass to find Bellerin for the opener and wonderfully placed free-kick to double the hosts lead.

Alexis  8/10 | Stunning strike to make it 3-0 and worked his socks off. A constant threat with his pace and direct running.

Giroud  7/10 | Rounded off a great afternoons work with a superb strike for 4-1.

Subs:

Gabriel (7), Flamini (6), Welbeck (6)

Liverpool

Mignolet  5/10 | Made two excellent early saves to deny Cazorla and Ramsey. Could have done better with both the Ozil and Sanchez goals but made another good save to deny Giroud in the second half.

Can 5/10 | Was one of Liverpool’s better players until he was sent off for two yellow cards late on.

Toure  5/10 | Was extremely nervous early on when he gave away possession and didn’t look comfortable all afternoon.

Sakho 5/10 | Was caught out of position too often. Seemed to miss Skrtel’s organisational skills next to him.

Henderson  6/10 | Tucked away his penalty but failed to take control of the midfield.

Allen 6/10 | Made a couple of decent tackles but didn’t really have any influence on the game.

Lucas 6/10 | Still looked rusty after a long period on the sidelines. Couldn’t get a hold of Ozil.

Moreno 6/10 | Offered Bellerin inside too easily for the opener. Was a threat going forward in the first half but faded after the break.

Coutinho 7/10 | Was arguably Liverpool’s most dangerous players but still couldn’t have too much influence on the game in the final third.

Markovic 5/10 | Poor pass denied Sterling a certain goal at 0-0. Was a threat but paid the price for his sloppy pass by being subbed at half time.

Sterling 6/10 | Won his side a penalty but did little else. Frustrating game for the youngster after a roller-coaster week.

Subs:

Sturridge (5)