Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea Player Ratings: Super Sanchez

Glory for the Gunners – bbc.co.uk

After a turbulent campaign, Arsenal won their third FA Cup in four years thanks to a 2-1 victory over Premier League Champions Chelsea. But how did players on both teams rate?

Arsenal

David Ospina – made a couple of good stops in the second half and a brave block on Costa before the interval. Should have reacted quicker to the Brazilian’s equalizer, which deflected past him slowly. 5

Rob Holding – let Costa get goal side of him for one first half chance, got booked for a challenge on him and might have done better for the goal. Has played better lately. 5
Per Mertesacker – For a man who hadn’t started a competitive game in 13 months, this was a remarkable display. The German’s last-ditch blocks were key to Arsenal repelling Chelsea early in the second half. 9
Nacho Monreal – made some timely interceptions. The left-sided centre-back role suits him more than a full-back role, where he has to cover more ground. 8

Hector Bellerin – worked hard to deny Hazard space. Tested Courtois once and shot narrowly wide on the break late on. 6
Granit Xhaka – picked up second balls for fun in the first 20 minutes and competed well. Picked up a yellow card. 7
Aaron Ramsey – struck the woodwork, scored the winner and supported attacks well. Some of his second half positioning could have been better. 7
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – looked bright early on. Wanted to cut inside rather than attack the byline but was solid defensively and adapted admirably to an unfamiliar left-wing-back role. 6

Mesut Ozil – showed good movement along with his usual creativity. Could have scored one-on-one, hit the post and also did the dirty work. 8
Danny Welbeck – ran the channels, won fouls and gave Arsenal an outlet. End product could have been better and he should have squared one tight-angled chance to Ramsey. 7
Alexis Sanchez – scored the opener, made clever runs in from the left and caused problems for Moses. Always drove Arsenal forward. 9

Olivier Giroud (on 78) – dinked a lovely cross for Ramsey’s winner. 7
Francis Coquelin (on 83)
Mohamed Elneny (on 90+3)

Chelsea

Thibaut Courtois – Was not at fault for either goal and did well to push Xhaka’s strike away. 6

Cesar Azpilicueta – didn’t have his usual confidence in possession in the first half. Struggled to handle Arsenal’s pace. 3
David Luiz – poor distribution in the first half and struggled to handle the pace of Welbeck. 2
Gary Cahill – twice saved Chelsea with goal-line clearances, impressively stopping Ozil’s first half dink. One of the better players. 6

Victor Moses – struggled to handle Sanchez. Combined well with Pedro for a spell at the start of the second half, before getting sent off for a second booking due to a dive. 4
N’Golo Kante – uncharacteristically passive, bar 15 minutes at the start of the second half. Often gave the ball away and failed to track Ramsey’s run for the winner. 3
Nemanja Matic – exposed in the first 20 minutes due to a lack of awareness. Though he got further up the pitch in later spells, his technique was limited. 4
Marcos Alonso – fired a free-kick over the bar. A couple of decent crosses but struggled defensively. 4

Pedro – One of the livelier players. One or two efforts before half-time and briefly linked up well with Moses after the break, but lacked precision. 6
Diego Costa – in the first half he lacked bravery when crosses came into the box. Engaged the centre-backs more after the break and thus deserved his equalizing goal. 6
Eden Hazard – not at his best. Played through Pedro in the first half but was surrounded by red shirts and struggled to release the ball. 4

Cesc Fabregas (on 61) – had a positive impact and showed perhaps why he should have started. 7
Willian (on 72) – made some bright runs down the right. 7
Michy Batshuayi (on 88)