How Arsenal players rated as they were crowned FA Cup winners against Chelsea

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Arsenal delivered one of their best performances of the season to beat the Premier League champions and win the FA Cup.

They had a defensive crisis to deal with and were forced to field Per Mertesacker lacking in match fitness and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at left wing-back. However, they were the better team and deserved to win the trophy.

Arsene Wenger’s future remains unclear, but that won’t matter tonight as Gunners fans will be celebrating another FA Cup success.

Here are how their players rated at Wembley on Saturday afternoon…

David Ospina – It was a huge decision to start with the Colombian in the FA Cup final and he wasn’t at his best. He should have done more to prevent the Chelsea equaliser and there were a couple of other occasions where he did not look convincing. That said, he made a great late save to prevent Chelsea from getting back on level terms. 6

Rob Holding – The centre back was okay and he made some nice contributions in defence, but he was easily shrugged off for the equalising goal. There are reasons for optimism in his game, but he isn’t the finished article yet. 6

Per Mertesacker – He was seen as the weak link when the teams were announced after an injury-plagued season, but the German was excellent on Saturday. In the air, he was dominant with five successful aerial duels, while his passing accuracy of 93% showed that he was effective in his distribution.  7

Nacho Monreal – It was a decent display from the Spaniard, who has been very consistent in the Arsenal defence this season. He completed six ball recoveries and helped his side keep things tight at the back for long periods of the game. 6

Hector Bellerin – The Spaniard caused Chelsea problems in attack with his powerful runs down the right flank. His final ball wasn’t the best, but his movement was impressive and he came close to scoring in the closing stages. In defence, he played his part as few chances were created down his side of the pitch. 7

Aaron Ramsey – The Welshman was excellent on Saturday and scored the winning goal for his side. He gambled in the final third and made a late run into the box to head Olivier Giroud’s cross past Thibaut Courtois. It was a great piece of midfield play and showed the threat that he can pose. Furthermore, he made five ball recoveries and finished the match with a 95% passing accuracy, underlining his cool head in possession. 9

Granit Xhaka – It was a good performance from the midfielder, who has grown into the season and started to live up to his price tag. He completed four ball recoveries and rarely gave the ball away in the middle of the park. Some of his forward passes were excellent. 7

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – The England international was asked to play an unfamiliar role as a left wing-back on Saturday and he didn’t put himself to shame in the position. He completed four ball recoveries and made two successful dribbles. However, his passing accuracy of 63% will go down as a disappointment. 6

Mesut Ozil – It was a mixed showing from the German international as he caused a lot of problems with his passing range and completed three key passes. However, his finishing wasn’t great and he should have put the result beyond doubt late on, but smashed an effort against the post. 7