Arsenal keeps their hope of a first trophy since 2005 alive as they defeated a brave Brighton side away with the scoreline of 2-3. Giroud scored first two goals for the gunners and Walcott’s deflected finish clinched the tie for them.

Player Ratings

Szczesny : A Mixed game for Arsenal’s gloves-man. He produced a stunning save in the first half but his school boy type mistake caused Brighton’s second goal. 5.5/10

Santos : Typical Santos performance. Never seen a Brazilian play so bad at this level. Almost all Brighton attacks came through Santos. 3/10

Jenkinson : A good game from the English youngster. He made good overlapping runs and was decent at defense too. 6.5/10

Koscielny : An average performance from the hard tackling defender. Not much to do but he provided good cover for Santos. 6/10

Mertesacker : Arsenal’s captain did okay for most of the game but he was left watching zones for Brighton’s second equalizer. 5.5/10

Diaby : Coming back from injury, the Frenchman assisted Giroud with a sublime pass for Arsenal’s second goal. But he still looks stiff and lost possession few times. 6.5/10

Ramsey : He is fitting in beautifully in Arteta’s position. He kept Arsenal passing ticking and also provided a beautiful chip pass to Walcott later in the second half. 7/10

Rosicky : Showed glimpse of his talent with some neat dribbles but still a bit away from full match fitness. 6/10

Oxlade-Chamberlain : Started the game well, but become invisible as the game progressed. Need to pull up his socks if he wants to be a regular starter. 4.5/10

Podolski : Overall a good game for the German. Hit the bar with a well taken freekick also assisted Giroud’s first goal. 7/10

Giroud : He carried the goal scoring responsibilities of the team on his shoulders with two stunning goals. An immense, match winning performance by the classic French striker.  8/10 (man of the match)

Substitutes:

Gibbs : Gibbs replaced Santos. Good game overall for the substitute. 6/10

Walcott : In form English Winger came from the bench to score the winner with a deflected shot. 7/10

Wilshere : From the moment he came on, he started pulling all the strings in the midfield and orchestrated every Arsenal attack. 7/10

Watch the highlights here:

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