Arsenal player ratings vs Huddersfield: Koscielny, Alex Iwobi, Leno shine in a tough away fixture

Bernd Leno: 7.5/10

Made a couple killer saves to keep the hosts frustrated. Had some help from the centre-backs, especially Koscielny. Still, Leno was answering. The opportunity has now been there for him to assert himself as the keeper Arsenal need, the keeper that can keep them in matches on his own and he’s been taking those chances as they come.

Shkodran Mustafi: 6/10

Had a disappointing start which was quite painful to watch. Failed to mark his 100th appearance with a convincing display, looking shaky and finding himself out of position a few times. He did get himself together in the second half but wasn’t an inch above average even then.

Laurent Koscielny: 8.5/10

Was the shine in lacklustre defence of Arsenal. Could have done more on that late goal, as can be said of everyone else, but overall, this match was so highly impacted by Koscielny that one could say that he was the reason why the Gunners took three points at all.

Nacho Montreal: 6/10

The Spanaird struggled with the threat of Diakhaby, who slipped in behind Kolasinac regularly, early on but from then onwards was his usual solid presence in the team. It is very on brand for “Arsenal’s Mr Reliable” that he was the one to thump the ball off the line when Huddersfield looked like scrambling a late goal in the 84th minute.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 7.5/10

Returning from injury, the youngster gave Arsenal so much more on the flanks than Stephan Lichtsteiner had given a week earlier. By half-time he had provided an assist, completed more passes in the opposition half than any team-mate and made three tackles. Crucial assist to Lacazette was notable in his aggressive performance.

Matteo Guendouzi: 6/10

Didn’t have a whole lot to do in the first period. Took up a much bigger role in the second half, as the Gunners were in a bit more of a desperate state than they might have expected. Read the passing lanes well and did his best to establish control.

Lucas Torreira: 6/10

Spent many of the early minutes mopping up after his team-mates’ sloppy passes but was far from an integral cog in this counter-attacking display where Arsenal looked to work the flanks. It was no surprise that he was taken off early.

Sead Kolasinac: 6.5/10

Some suspect positioning and defensive work left Monreal isolated at times. However, Kolasinac is a far improved player when in a back three/five than a quartet. His fifth assist of the season – for Iwobi’s opener – came with quite a magnificent cross to the back post.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 7.5/10

Played well throughout the match, keeping up the energy, leading and participating in every single counter attack. He lacked a little sharpness with the final product, but he’s been out for awhile. This performance showed that he can be a solution to a big time problem in the wide midfield for Arsenal.

Alex Iwobi: 8.5/10

With so many senior attackers injured or working their way back to fitness this was Iwobi’s chance to shine. He certainly did. There might have been an element of fortune in his deflected volley for the opener but there was nothing lucky about the space the 22-year-old kept finding in midfield as he schemed and flitted elegantly around the game.

An exceptional display after drawing a lot of flak for his performance against Manchester City last weekend.

Alexandre Lacazette: 7.5/10

This was a tough assignment for Lacazette, without his regular strike partner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Being the focal point of Arsenal attack, he drifted into right place at the right time for the crucial second goal. Against a robust defence he led the line energetically, making the right runs at the right time.

SUBSTITUTES

Mohamed Eleneny: 6.5/10

Brought in for Torreira at the hour mark, first impact on the match was leaping over Lacazette and stealing a superb chance from him. However, helped Arsenal keep control of the game in the last half an hour.

Denis Suarez: 6/10