Arsenal 2-0 Southampton players ranking as the first show of the Gunners flows to Saints

Arsenal has maintained its lead over the top four by beating Southampton in the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners returned to the Champions League berths by beating Southampton, Manchester United having failed to win the home win against Liverpool.

The match was as successful as in the first half. Unai Emery's men took a 2-0 advantage at the break after an impressive first half-hour, revealing the club's offensive talent.

The goals scored by Alexandre Lacazette and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the first 18 minutes gave them a lead that they never seemed to lose.

They could even afford to let top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the bench for 75 minutes with Unai Emery's manager allowing the attacker to enjoy most of the afternoon.

But how are players ranked in North London?

Arsenal

Leno 7

Save early from crucial Redmond. Arsenal immediately scored on the other end.

Lichtsteiner 7

A good defensive shot, a turn and a cross put the crowd on foot.

Mustafi 6

Almost caught playing offside and pbading Redmond.

Sokratis 7

Love to defend and he had some opportunities to show it.

Kolasinac 8

Loaded forward on every occasion. I found myself centered a few times.

Torreira 6

Was not overworked but a reliable presence in front of the defense when needed.

Xhaka 6

Mainly kept things simple but still capable of a dangerous, careless pbad.

Mkhitaryan 7

Had a hand in the first goal and scored the second goal. Hello job.

Ramsey 5

Had his moments this term even though the future is elsewhere. Not today though.

Iwobi 8

Lively and effective on the left. His crosses led to two goals.

Lacazette 8

Put in a real shift, constant threat and rewarded by a goal.

SUBS

Koscielny (for Lichtsteiner 56) 6

Aubameyang (for Iwobi 75) 6

Southampton

Gunn 6

Involved in the confusion for the second but without it would have been worse.

Valery 6

Can not contain Iwobi in the first half. Seemed better as a straight back.

Bednarek 7

Lacazette played inside but produced brilliant blocks to deprive Arsenal of more joy.

Stephens 4

Struggling for form. Gunners gifted their second. Unsurprisingly hanging at halftime.

Vestegaard 6

Some contributions but they just kept the score low.

Targett 6

Had advanced well when he could but mostly pushed back.

Romeu 6

You are stuck as always. Had more influence in the second half.

Hojbjerg 6

Saw a good amount of ball but when the killer pbad could not find it.

Armstrong 5

Support the attacker. Little impact and sacrificed in mid-course reshuffle.

Ward-Prowse 5

Clean and tidy but did not have a major effect on the game.

Redmond 6

Volunteer worker but missing early was crucial and received few services afterwards.

SUBS

Austin (for Stephens 46) 6

Obafemi (for Armstrong 46) 5

Elyounoussi (for Obafemi 65) 5