Cardiff City vs. Arsenal: Live Player Ratings for the Gunners

Aaron Ramsey scored twice in his return to Cardiff, Saturday, and with their 3-0 win Arsenal temporarily extended their lead atop the Premier League table to seven points.

Mesut Ozil also impressed in south Wales, earning a pair of assists, and Mikel Arteta’s effort on the defensive side of the ball also warrants mention.

In the Gunners net Wojciech Szczesny was impressive, particularly early in the second half when he had to be sharp to deny Frazier Campbell from in close.

Player	Half-time	Full-time
Szczesny	8	10
Sagna	7	7
Mertesacker	7	8
Koscielny	8	8
Gibbs	8	8
Ramsey	9	10
Arteta	7	8
Wilshere	8	8
Ozil	9	9
Cazorla	8	6
Giroud	5	5
Monreal	N/A	6
Flamini	N/A	8
Walcott	N/A	8

Half-time analysis

Szczesny: Didn't have a single shot to face in the opening period.

Sagna: Hands are full opposite Kim.

Mertesacker: Clashed heads with Sagna and spent three minutes on the ground before getting back up.

Koscielny: 96% of his passes completed.

Gibbs: Making a case for England selection with Roy Hodgson in the stadium.

Ramsey: Did ever so well to latch onto Ozil's ball for the opener.

Arteta: Passing not as accurate as usual.

Wilshere: Clanged one off the woodwork shortly after kickoff.

Ozil: Now leads the Premier League in assists.

Cazorla: A quiet 45 minutes by his standards.

Giroud: For some reason quit playing after being played through by Ozil, thinking he was offside.

Full-time analysis

Szczesny: Came up huge when called upon - particularly on Campbell's header shortly after the restart.

Sagna: A better second half, although Cardiff still had some joy playing in the ball from that flank.

Mertesacker: Showed no ill effects from that collision with Sagna and put in a typically solid performance.

Koscielny: Ended up with the best pass-completion rate of the day: 98%.

Gibbs: Cowie proved a handful, but in the end reminded why he's first-choice ahead of Monreal.

Ramsey: A confident finish to round out the scoring.

Arteta: Made seven tackles over the course of the 90 minutes.

Wilshere: Faded slightly after the restart and was replaced by Flamini with 10 minutes to play.

Ozil: Got his second assist on the Flamini goal.

Cazorla: One of his more forgettable showings of 2013-14.

Giroud: Arsenal didn't even need him.

Monreal: Came on to tighten things up when the Gunners still led by only a goal.

Flamini: Secured the three points with a goal in the 86th minute.

Walcott: Exchanged the ball with Ramsey in the buildup to the final goal.