[Player Ratings] Arsenal 2-1 Reading: Sanchez On Form But Welbeck Struggles

Arsenal booked their place in the FA Cup final with a rather fortunate 2-1 victory over Reading at Wembley this evening with Alexis Sanchez the hero once again, as his two goals proved to be the difference after extra-time.

Here are player ratings from the game:

Szczesny  6/10 | Should arguably have kept out the Reading goal but was reasonable solid in all other areas of the game.

Debuchy  5.5/10 | Struggled to get back into the swing of things after a lengthy absence, but did well to get forward so much considering his lack of match fitness.

Mertesacker  6/10 | A little shaky at times when under pressure but was forced off with an injury in the second half.

Koscielny  7/10 | Kept the Gunners back-line together at times as his team-mates struggled to cope with the Reading pressure.

Gibbs  5.5/10 | A disappointing return from Gibbsy. He looked rusty, his crossing was poor and he should have done more to prevent their goal.

Coquelin  7/10 | Battled well against a physical Reading side. Was sacrificed when we pushed for a winner in extra-time.

Ramsey  5.5/10 | Supposed to play right-wing but was constantly drifting inside congesting the midfield area. It’s not working for me so time to choose between Ramsey and Cazorla against Chelsea.

Cazorla  6.5/10 | A good first half from Cazorla and he kept things simple in the middle, but didn’t have any real impact in terms of creating chances.

Ozil  7/10 | Stunning assist for the opening goal and showed some great touches. Was involved more in the first half but faded after the break.

Alexis  8/10 | His relentless work ethic was repaid with two goals. The second was fortunate but he deserved a bit of luck thanks to his work rate.  A real danger whenever he was on the ball.

Welbeck  5/10 | Very quiet game from Welbeck. He started in his favoured central position but offered little and couldn’t get himself in the game.

Subs:

Gabriel 7/10 | A real threat from set-pieces as he almost scored twice but was a little suspect at the back. He did however make one crucial tackle in extra-time.

Giroud 7/10  | Made a massive impact when he was introduced. His hold-up play had been sorely missed and we were finally linking up in attack with him on the pitch.

Walcott N/A

 Watch the goals and highlights from the game here

So we’re into a record 19th FA Cup final where we’ll play either Aston Villa or Liverpool. We were well below our best today but progressing to the final is all that matters. Back to Wembley we go….