Arsenal player ratings: Super sub Pepe steals the show as Lacazette disappoints on first start since injury
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NICOLAS PEPE was the star of the show as Arsenal scraped a 3-2 win over Vitoria in the Europa League.
The £72million man silenced his critics with two incredible free-kicks after Gabriel Martinelli's first-half strike.
Here's how SunSport's Marc Mayo rated the Gunners...
EMI MARTINEZ - 5
The Argentine won’t be happy with letting Edwards’ shot slip through his legs early on and didn’t get a real chance to atone the mistake.
HECTOR BELLERIN - 6
It’s as if he never went away. The right-back was back to his old self, providing useful impetus when bombing forward while being a touch flaky in defence.
ROB HOLDING - 6
Not a great night at the office but steady enough to be considered for selection against Crystal Palace.
SHKODRAN MUSTAFI - 6
Made his biggest impact from set-pieces, where he was a constant threat. Reasonable if isolated in defence.
KIERAN TIERNEY - 6
Yes, an exciting player. It comes at a cost, though. Fiery in attack with pace and a pinpoint cross on him, such as the one that set up Martinelli, he suffers defensively and was caught out a number of times - mainly for the opener.
LUCAS TORREIRA - 6
The anchor man’s defensive qualities were taken away as Vitoria simply bypassed him in attack, by countering or hammering the flanks.
JOE WILLOCK - 4
A tough old week for the young midfielder.
Given a great chance to impress at Sheffield United, and then struggling, he started tonight but gave the ball away too often.
Lasted only just 45 minutes before being hooked.
AINSLEY MAITLAND-NILES - 4
In his supposedly natural winger position but lacking in any real impetus in advanced areas. Surrendered possession in the centre-circle for the second goal and Emery quickly took him off.
EMILE SMITH ROWE - 5
Faded after sparks of genius in the first-half. There is a really good player in there, but it will have to be teased out in the cups for now.
GABRIEL MARTINELLI - 6
Absent until notching once again with a smart header to make it 1-1.
On the plus side, the Brazilian continually got into good positions. On the negative, he lacked composure with the ball at his feet.
ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE - 4
A highly anticipated first start since injury but it really wasn’t the Frenchman’s night.
A dopy performance that lacked physical and mental sharpness was capped off by an embarrassing flop from a simple barge by Garcia.
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MATTEO GUENDOUZI - 6
Drove forward well, making good use of the best asset in his game.
DANI CEBALLOS - 4
The playmaker’s form has dropped off a cliff, Emery faces serious questions as to how he can be more worth playing than Ozil.
NICOLAS PEPE - 8
Two touches of the ball and three points for Arsenal.
The keeper may have jumped out of the way of the first free-kick before it had even been taken but the second was a beauty.
