Arsenal secured a 3-0 victory over Lille in the Champions League, making it two wins from two in the competition, though the rotated side laboured for long stretches at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta's team were kept at bay for more than an hour before Jurrien Timber broke the deadlock with a brilliant finish over the goalkeeper. Eberechi Eze added a second, and Bukayo Saka swiftly put the match to bed, rolling the ball into the far corner for his fourth goal of the season.
Defensive solidity and midfield control
David Raya earned a 6 rating, returning to normality with a clean sheet without having to make a save, though he nearly put himself in trouble in the first half when dropping the ball straight to a Lille player, with Rice coming to his rescue.
Timber was the standout performer with an 8 rating, delivering a sublime dinked finish to open the scoring after being a constant threat in behind the defence. He also put big chances on a plate for Guimaraes and Merino and was rock solid defensively.
Ezri Konsa scored 7, continuing to look right at home while tasked with pressing Haraldsson all the way up the pitch, having the pace to cover that ground. Gabriel also earned 7, making one brilliant block inside the area and marshalling the defence well, despite being a bit too aggressive in getting tight at times.
Mixed displays in attack
Myles Lewis-Skelly was exposed early on as he left huge space for Lille to counter into, but grew into the game and picked out Eze for a good opportunity, with nobody on the pitch creating more chances, earning a 7.
Declan Rice fired the ball around with real purpose, adding much-needed class to an otherwise lacklustre opening 45 minutes, with his range of passing superb as he ran the midfield, also scoring 8. Bruno Guimaraes played with intensity and tried to whip up the crowd, though he fluffed his lines from seven yards out when unmarked, earning a 7.
Mikel Merino was rated just 3, described as so lethargic with not enough zip on the ball, getting booked for a lunging slide after losing it, and lacking his usual composure in front of goal with two poor misses. Noni Madueke scored 5, with his final ball terrible on the whole until he picked out a better pass inside for Timber's opener.
Substitutes make the difference
Eberechi Eze was extremely disappointing for an hour, should have converted a first-half chance and was slack in possession, but stepped up significantly after Arsenal made chances, cooly converting to make it 2-0, earning a 6. Viktor Gyokeres offered absolutely nothing, with seven touches in the first half in another anonymous performance, no shots and too easily shrugged off the ball, scoring 3.
Among the substitutes, Kai Havertz played his part in Arsenal's quality stepping up significantly, with a lovely cut-back assist for Saka, earning 7. Bukayo Saka fired Arsenal into life immediately after coming on, picking out Eze for the second goal and adding one of his own with a composed finish, scoring 8. Martin Odegaard added the kind of guile that had been missing with Merino in midfield, dictating the play as Arsenal took complete control, earning 7. Ben White had a comfortable final 15 minutes with no defensive scares, offering bursts of energy flying forward on the overlap, scoring 6, while Max Dowman came on for Eze in the 85th minute and was not rated.
