Fulham 1-5 Arsenal Ratings Explained: Gunners trounce hapless Cottagers

Five-star Arsenal put Fulham to the sword as they made in nine successive wins in all competitions with a 5-1 triumph at Craven Cottage. 

FULHAM - 6.21 

Marcus Bettinelli - 5.60 - Could do little for Alexandre Lacazette’s first half goal, but was forced into action early in the second half to deny a powerful Hector Bellerin shot. Conceded a couple of minutes later as the floodgates opened, conceding goals to Aaron Ramsey and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. 

Cyrus Christie - 6.74 - Started solidly enough, but was found wanting following the introduction of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Arsenal often looked to attack down his side as he made two tackles, one interception and won four aerial duels.  

Denis Odoi - 6.17 - Not the best performance from the centre-back at the heart of the defence, who looked lost at the back without Tim Ream at the back. 

Tim Ream - 6.24 - Sacrificed 10 minutes after the restart as Slavisa Jokanovic looked to add more attacking impetus to the side after going 2-1 down. Won all five aerial duels contested as he dominated in the air. 

Maxime Le Marchand - 6.19 - Moved to centre-back following Tim Ream’s withdrawal, but flattered to deceive at both left-back and centre-back.  

Andre Schurrle - 6.45 - Huffed and puffed and finally blew the Arsenal house down as he drew Fulham level with a nice finish over Bernd Leno on the stroke of half time. One of Fulham’s bright sparks and chanced his luck where possible as he had seven shots, but it wasn’t his day. 

Jean Michael Seri - 6.10 - A sub-par showing by his standards, with a couple of wayward first half passes setting the tone for the Ivorian’s performance. Mustered just a 80.6% pass success rate in an afternoon to forget. 

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa - 6.51 - Looked to provide an attacking threat from deep, but in doing so, he left Jean Michael Seri exposed and proved to be more a hindrance than a help in a underwhelming hour-long cameo.

Ryan Sessegnon - 6.37 - Saw his offensive output minimised when moved to left-back after Tim Ream's withdrawal, but created two goalscoring opportunities for the home side.

Luciano Vietto - 6.85 - Notched his fourth Premier League assist of the season for Andre Schurrle’s goal on the stroke of half time. Was a handful for the Arsenal defence, but little, bar his assist for Fulham’s goal, came off for the Argentine. 

Aleksandar Mitrovic - 6.55 - A handful over the 90 minutes as he won five aerial duels and forced a solid last-ditch block from Shkodran Mustafi in the first half for a goal bound effort.  

Subs 

Aboubakar Kamara - 5.42 - Disappointing when he came on. Failed to get involved in the game and when he did, fluffed his lines as both his shots were off target. 

Kevin McDonald - 5.71 - Struggled with the pace of the Arsenal midfield. 

Stefan Johansen - 6.01 - Had no time to impact the match. 

ARSENAL - 7.32 

Bernd Leno - 6.72 - Forced into action early on to turn a deflected Luciano Vietto shot away for a corner. Could do little for Andre Schurrle’s goal, but was solid enough when it mattered. 

Hector Bellerin - 7.49 - Sloppily gave away possession early on that presented Luciano Vietto with a chance that was well saved by Bernd Leno after the Argentine’s shot deflected off Rob Holding. However, he quickly recovered and helped himself to an assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goal, with the Gabon international on hand to turn the right-back's cross into the back of the net. 

Shkodran Mustafi - 7.12 - Expertly blocked a goal bound Aleksandar Mitrovic shot after five minutes. Still has his doubters, yet was solid at the back for the Gunners today. 

Rob Holding - 6.86 - Took the sting out of the ball for Luciano Vietto’s early effort and was a solid performer at the back as he deputised well for Sokratis alongside Shkodran Mustafi. 

Nacho Monreal - 6.53 - Granted license to get forward where possible and didn’t disappoint, with much of Arsenal’s attacks coming down their left, getting the assist for Alexandre Lacazette's first. However, he was at fault for Andre Schurrle’s goal as he clumsily gave away possession that resulted in the German hitting the back of the net from his fourth shot. 

Lucas Torreira - 7.40 - After an early communication mishap with Rob Holding, he settled in quickly and dictated the play for Arsenal in midfield. Made the most interceptions (6) in a resounding Arsenal win. 

Grant Xhaka - 7.27 - Did the dirty work in midfield, making three tackles and one interception, and looks increasingly comfortable alongside Lucas Torreira in midfield. 

Danny Welbeck - 7.11 - Looked to have come off with another injury, which is a shame for the attacker who provided the assist for Alexandre Lacazatte’s second, that coming from one of three key passes, more than any other player. 

Henrikh Mkhitaryan - 7.02 -Dragged an early effort wide of Marcus Bettinelli’s goal. Played an excellent cross field pass for Arsenal’s fourth goal in what was a solid display from the Armenian. 

Alex Iwobi - 7.10 - A bright opening 45 minutes for the Nigerian, whose movement really tested the defensive qualities of Denis Odoi and Cyrus Christie as he looked to find space between the right-back and centre-back. Couldn’t add a goal or assist for his efforts, however, before he was subbed off. 

Alexandre Lacazette - 8.90 (Man of the Match) - Netted the opener with a composed finish on the half hour mark as he collected Nacho Monreal’s low cross to bury past Marcus Bettinelli. Added his and Arsenal’s second three minutes into the second half with a superb low hit from 20 yards at the near post and churned out yet another excellent display for the Gunners. 

Subs 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 8.81 - Replaced Danny Welbeck just after the hour mark and was quickly involved as he provided the assist for Aaron Ramsey’s excellent goal. Netted Arsenal’s fourth with a superb turn-and-hit effort past Marcus Bettinelli and added his second in injury time, meaning has now had a direct hand in seven goals in his last six Arsenal outings. 

Aaron Ramsey - 7.90 - What. A. Goal. Just 38 seconds after coming on, he added Arsenal’s third as he rounded off a beautiful free flowing move with a lovely flick past Marcus Bettinelli.  

Mateo Guendouzi - 6.21 - Had no time to impact the match.