Arsenal 2-1 Everton PLAYER RATINGS: Olivier Giroud shows he's more than just a super sub

• e-mail

Arsenal moved to the top of the Barclays Premier League following a hard-earned 2-1 win over Everton at the Emirates Stadium. Sportsmail's Matt Barlow rated the performances of the players on Saturday night.

ARSENAL 

PETR CECH: One brilliant and vital save in the 85th minute to deny Deulofeu an equaliser. Largely redundant until beaten by a deflected goal just before the interval. 7.

HECTOR BELLERIN: Rarely troubled by Lennon and fluent going forward but his decision-making sometimes off the mark. 6.

GABRIEL PAULISTA: Handled the physical threat from Lukaku well. Slow to close down Barkley for his goal, but fine tackle to thwart Lukaku in frantic final minutes. 7.

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud scored his sixth goal of the season against Everton on Saturday

LAURENT KOSCIELNY: First goal of the season and a flawless performance in central defence 7.5.

NACHO MONREAL: Excellent in defence. Covered his centre-halves, silenced Deulofeu and contributed in attack. 7.

FRANCIS COQUELIN: Aggressive and involved in the centre of the pitch. Booked. 6.5.

Giroud was back in the starting line up for Arsenal after losing his place to Theo Walcott

SANTI CAZORLA: Won the ball, picked his passes, set the tempo and generally oozed class. 8.

ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN: Busy with flashes of quality but inconsistent and better with the ball than without it, as ever. 6.

MESUT OZIL: Sweet cross for Giroud’s goal, hit a post late on, and other wafts of magic with his wand-like left-foot. 7.

ALEXIS SANCHEZ: Subdued by his standards but never stopped running. 6.

OLIVIER GIROUD: His glancing header gave Arsenal the lead. His sixth of the season in all competitions. Hit the bar. Won vital defensive headers. Booked. 7.5.

SUBS: FLAMINI (for Oxlade-Chamberlain 81 min), GIBBS (for Sanchez 89).

ARSENE WENGER: Decision to recall Giroud paid dividends, and his team struggled through despite being below their best in the shadow of the Bayern Munich win. Flamini and Gibbs. 7.

Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny capped an impressive display by scoring second goal

EVERTON

TIM HOWARD: Failed to dominate his air space as Arsenal seized the initiative in the first-half. Couple of good blocks after the break. 5.5.

SEAMUS COLEMAN: Managed to keep Sanchez under control, never an easy task. Little of his attacking prowess on display. 6.5.

JOHN STONES: Serene at times, bringing it down and playing under pressure. Sloppy at others with his distribution and marking. 6.

Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard had a night to forget at the Emirates on Saturday

PHIL JAGIELKA: Bad night for the Everton captain. His team conceded two goals in the air, and he injured his left-knee and was forced off. 6.

BRENDAN GALLOWAY: Athletic and defended well, up against the Ox. Lacks a little poise coming forward, which is to be expected for a young player out of position. 6.

JAMES MCCARTHY: Fabulous stamina and aggression in midfield, with decent quality on the ball at times. A big part of the late rally. 7.

GARETH BARRY: Cross for Lukaku who hit the bar. Booked for a pull on Ozil, and sent off for a trip on Gibbs in stoppage time. 5.

GERARD DEULOFEU: Flimsy on the ball and infuriatingly quick to hit the turf. Golden chance saved by Cech near the end. 5.

Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil fight for the bal with Everton's Ross Barkley

ROSS BARKLEY: Ambitious and creative. His goal hauled Everton back into the game with help of a deflection. 6.

AARON LENNON: Played on the left. Unable to contribute much beyond a few flickers of pace. 5.

ROMELU LUKAKU: Disappointing and did not threaten at all, until he hit the bar with a free header, 12 minutes from time. 5.5.

SUBS: MORI (for Jagielka 52) 6.5; MIRALLAS (for Lennon 70) 5.5; KONE (for Coleman 89).

ROBERTO MARTINEZ: Will be furious to concede two in the air, especially the second from a set-piece. But the two goals in two minutes finally kicked his team into life. They finished strong and almost salvaged something at the end.

LEE MASON: No big decisions to make but he still managed to annoy both teams with his lenient approach to some of the tackling. 6.