[Player Ratings] Anderlecht 1-2 Arsenal: Sanchez Shines For Poor Gunners

Arsenal needed two late goals from Kieran Gibbs and Lukas Podolski to secure a vital 2-1 win over Anderlecht in Brussels on Wednesday night. Here are player ratings from Gooner Mac:

Martinez  6/10 | Held his own on his Champions League debut. Made a couple of very tidy saves in the second half when Anderlecht pushed for a second.

Chambers 6/10 | Was caught out of position on a couple of occasions but produced a stunning delivery to set up the equaliser. Still think he’s better in the middle though.

Mertesacker 5/10 | Struggled to hold our patched-up defence together. We really need Koscielny back to tighten things up.

Monreal 5/10 | Didn’t look comfortable at centre-back. Got dragged out of position on several occasions and picked up an early booking.

Gibbs 7/10 | Was always keen to get forward and he got his rewards with a beautiful volley in the 90th minute to start our great escape.

Flamini 5/10 | Did his best to protect the back four but his limitations were exposed again.

Sanchez 7.5/10 | Arsenal’s best player on the night. Didn’t stop working for the team, tracking back, put tackles in, and was our main threat in the final third too. Created the winner for Podolski and almost scored a lovely free-kick.

Wilshere 6/10 | Looked a threat in the opening 30 minutes but his influence faded as the game went on before being subbed for the final 10 minutes.

Ramsey 5.5/10 | Understandably, he didn’t look match fit and a very average display was littered with miss-placed passes.

Cazorla 6/10 | Did his best to try and make things happen but his final ball was lacking. Wasted a great chance to open the scoring in the second half.

Welbeck 6/10 | Made some good runs but it wasn’t his night.

Subs:

Campbell 5/10 | Didn’t really make much of an impact.

The Ox 5.5/10 | Added a bit of pace and energy to the side.

Podolski 7/10 | In the right place at the right time to score a vital last minute winner. Showed a real calm head under pressure.

The performance was well below par but we somehow managed to come home with all three points and in the end that’s all that matters at this stage of the competition. Hopefully we can get some players back soon and the performances will surely improve. Sunderland up next….