Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 8, Alex McCarthy 4: Southampton v Arsenal player ratings

Guuners seal comfortable 2-0 Premier League win at St Mary's

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  Alex McCarthy - 4: Woeful mistake to gift Nketiah the opener. Nearly got caught again later in first half. Failed to hold powerful Lacazette strike and could only parry straight to substitute Willock for second. Reuters

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  Ryan Bertrand - 6: Worked hard in his 200th appearance for Southampton

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  Yan Valery - 5: Right-back struggled defensively against pacy Arsenal attack. Taken off at the break. PA

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  Jan Bednarek - 6: Battled hard throughout. Almost turned Aubameyang cross into his own net in second half. Reuters

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  Jack Stephens - 5: Looked like defender might get over-run early on but stuck to his task, until late sending off for fouling Aubameyang when clean through. AFP

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  James Ward-Prowse - 6: Radar slightly off-kilter with dead-balls and shooting. Reuters

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  Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 7: Might be heading for St Mary's exit but no one can doubt his commitment. EPA

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  Stuart Armstrong - 6: No repeat of his heroics at Norwich in last match. Fired one chance into the stands. PA

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  Nathan Redmond - 6: One good chance when he found time and space in the second half but could only shoot into the side netting. Getty

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  Danny Ings - 7: Always busy, a couple of half chances and one immaculate piece of control that almost created a goal before the break. EPA

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  Michael Obafemi - 5: Failed to make any impact and was withdrawn at half-time. PA

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  Kyle Walker-Peters (sub Valery 45) - 7: An improvement at full-back over the struggling Valery. Reuters

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  Shane Long (sub Obafemi 45) 6: One good chance but saw his shot well saved by Martinez. Getty

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  Jannik Vestergaard (sub Hojbjerg 90) NA: Injury-time substitute. AFP

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  Oriol Romeu (sub Ings 90) NA: Injury-time substitute. EPA

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  Emiliano Martinez - 7: Largely untroubled. One magnificent Ederson-esque long ball to put Aubameyang clear in second half. One very good save from substitute Shane Long. EPA

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  Hector Bellerin - 6: Sloppy in possession and positioning in the first half, but still produced a couple of important challenges. Reuters

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  Shkodran Mustafi - 7: Shown early yellow for poor challenge and was walking tightrope for rest of game. AP

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  Rob Holding - 7: Composed and dominant performance from defender. Deserves to stay in team ahead of David Luiz. Reuters

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  Kieran Tierney - 7: Blow for Arsenal. Looked impressive until he was forced off in second half in a debut season already ravaged by injury. Reuters

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  Bukayo Saka - 7: Set up Nketiah for an early goal but had strayed offside before crossing. Combined well with Tierney and Aubameyang down the left. Reuters

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  Granit Xhaka - 7: A boost for Arsenal to have him back in midfield. Reuters

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  Dani Ceballos - 5: Not enough quality end product from the Spaniard, particularly in the first half. Reuters

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  Nicolas Pepe - 6: Quiet game from Ivory Coast attacker who never really threatened to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Taken off just after the hour mark. Reuters

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  Eddie Nketiah - 7: Lively performance from the striker. One finish ruled out for offside, handed goal on a plate by McCarthy gaffe, poked another chance clumsily wide when he should have done better. Reuters

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  Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 8: Unlucky when first-half shot cracked underside of crossbar when clean through. Surprsingly tried to pass when shooting seemed better option after break. Taken down by Stephens when clean through late on. Put in a good shift and always a problem for Southampton. Getty

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  Joe Willock (sub Pepe 64) 6: Reacted well to slot home second goal after McCarthy could only parry. Reuters

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  Alexandre Lacazette (sub Nketiah 79) NA: His drive forced save out of McCarthy that led to second goal. PA

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  Ainsley Maitland-Niles (sub Ceballos 80) NA: No chance to make impact. Getty

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  Sead Kolasinac (sub Tierney 70) NA: Came on when Southampton were building up a bit of pressure but held his own. AFP

Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy endured a night to forget as Arsenal returned to winning ways with victory over 10-man Saints.

The Gunners had lost their previous two games since the return of the Premier League but a goal apiece for Eddie Nketiah and Joe Willock earned Mikel Arteta's side a 2-0 victory at St Mary's.

McCarthy gifted Nketiah the ball for the opener and, after Jack Stephens was dismissed for a late foul on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, he failed to hold an Alexandre Lacazette strike as Willock gobbled up the chance.

Arsenal forward Nketiah said: "It was a very important three points. We have been unfortunate and we knew we had to roll our sleeves up and fight for the win.

"Southampton came out really strong in the second half and we worked hard in the heat to keep going.

"We work a lot on our high press and for me personally, I always try to give my all and I could smell the uncertainty from the goalkeeper. I have done it hundreds of times so I'm glad one of them has led to a goal."

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