Player Ratings: Liverpool duo boss it, Arsenal duo slated

Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana were fantastic for Liverpool as they beat Arsenal 3-1 in the Premier League on Saturday, while Francis Coquelin and Granit Xhaka badly underperformed for Arsene Wenger’s men.

Liverpool

Simon Mignolet: Pulled off an exceptional save from an Olivier Giroud header early on in the second half. 6

Nathaniel Clyne: Did brilliantly to intercept the ball on a couple of occasions to release Liverpool on dangerous attacks. Fantastic going forward. 7

Joel Matip: Committed himself too easily when Welbeck was slipped in to score. Had a great chance to secure match for Liverpool but couldn’t get enough on it. 6

Ragnar Klavan: A change from other recent performances. Composed on the ball and dealt with everything thrown at him. 7

James Milner: Did the leg work to get the Reds into a brilliant position for their second goal. 7

Georginio Wijnaldum: Energetic performance from the Dutch midfielder, seemed like he was everywhere and always available to receive the ball. Made some important late runs into the box. Excellent first-time finish for the third. 7

Emre Can: Showed a nice range of passing and kept things ticking over in the middle. Good but unspectacular. 7

Adam Lallana: Incredible energy to close the opposition down. Constantly turning and weaving at the Gunners defence and didn’t give them a minute’s peace. 8

Sadio Mane: Effective in getting Liverpool further up the pitch when up against it. Took his goal very well with a cool finish inside the area. A constant menace. 8

Roberto Firmino: Took opening goal of the game well with a cool finish into the roof of the net. Wonderful ball across to find Sadio Mane for the Reds’ second. 8

Philippe Coutinho: Got a number of shots off and had a typically lively performance in and around the opposition’s box. 7

Substitutes:

Divock Origi (came on for Coutinho 80′) Had a good header denied by the frame of the goal. 6

Lucas (came on for Lallana 90+2′) No time to get into match. 5

Trent Alexander-Arnold (came on for Mane 90+3′) Barely entered the field. 5

Arsenal

Petr Cech: Terrific save from Coutinho in the first half. Not to blame for the goals and generally did well. 7

Hector Bellerin: Made a few decent runs going forward but not enough bodies in the box to make them count. Struggled to deal with Milner and Wijnaldum’s attacking runs. 6

Shkodran Mustafi: Made a crucial interception and clearance early in the second half when Coutinho played a wonderful ball across the face of goal. 7

Laurent Koscielny: Missed header for first goal of the match when a long ball upfield was misjudged by the defender. The Liverpool attackers gave him a torrid time. 5

Nacho Monreal: Got sucked into a challenge for Liverpool’s second goal and left Sadio Mane unmarked to score. Put a good ball in for Giroud in the second half. 6

Francis Coquelin: Couldn’t cope with Lallana – booked for a challenge on the England international. Substituted at half-time having offered no protection for the defence. 4

Granit Xhaka: His defensive work was poor, failed to track midfield runners time and again. Offered very little going forward. 5

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Ineffective in the first period but came into the game as the Gunners had more of the ball in the second half. 6

Alex Iwobi: Occasional decent runs at the Liverpool defence but struggled to effectively distribute at the right time. 6

Danny Welbeck: Anonymous in the first half when the Gunners struggled to put any meaningful attacks together. Improved after the break and scored a lovely dinked finish. 7

Olivier Giroud: Isolated all too often up front with occasional support from the wings. Barely had a touch in the first half, but not necessarily his fault. Had a good opportunity superbly saved by Mignolet in the second. 6

Substitutes:

Alexis Sanchez (came on for Coquelin 45′) Injected some much-needed energy and vigour into the Gunners attacking line. Great assist for Welbeck’s goal. 8

Lucas Perez (came on for Giroud 74′) Couldn’t get into the match. 5

Theo Walcott (came on for Welbeck 74′) Provided more pace but largely ineffective. 6