Aaron Ramsey shows his worth and other things learned from Arsenal 5-1 Everton

Mkhitaryan just needs a hug

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is the quintessential confidence player, and during his time under Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, his meandered further and further downhill until all that remained was a shell of a fine player.

It might only be two games into his Arsenal career, and his first start might have been against a woefully poor Everton side, but he already looks rejuvenated by his move to the Emirates. Arsene Wenger is much more likely to provide an arm around the shoulder of Mkhitaryan – named the Bundesliga’s Players’ Player of the Season in his final campaign with Borussia Dortmund in 2015/16 – something the Armenian desperately needed during his fitful time lurching from the brilliant to bystander at Old Trafford.

Mkhitaryan provided two assists against the Toffees, his second to set up former Dortmund team-mate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was wondrous, while a shot from distance that narrowly missed Jordan Pickford’ goal in the first half provide a glimpse of what else he can provide when on top of his game.

Aubameyang arrival can truly fire Gunners

Although they lost a player of supreme skill in Alexis Sanchez, the dual arrival of former Dortmund teammates Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan will rightly have Arsenal fans licking their lips at the possibilities for their team moving forward with this pair pulling the strings of their attack.

Aubameyang’s temperament during his drawn-out departure from Westphalia has been drawn into question, and may not have exactly filled Wenger with confidence at a time when he’s trying to instill harmony to his dressing room. But in one moment of first half magic, the Gabon striker provided a glimpse of what he is all about. He’s a lethal finisher and while Alexandre Lacazette has settled in well to life in London, Aubameyang is on another level, one of the deadliest marksmen around.

Calm, composed and clinical, he is the world-class striker they’ve been crying out for since the heyday of Thierry Henry. And while it won’t happen this season, his goals can help Arsenal become a Premier League title contender.

Aarson Ramsey provides true value when fully fit

Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang are who Arsenal fans are excited about, but the star of the show here was undoubtedly Aaron Ramsey. The Wales maestro has provided class in fits and starts during a tenure with the Gunners that stretches into a decade this year.

But while injuries have marred his career, there is little debate that the man nicknamed ‘Rambo’ is a man who Wenger names as the first man in his squad when his midfield general is fit.

Ramsey is still only 27 and if he stays fit – and that’s monumentally sized ‘if’ – he can provide the guile and craft from deep that the Gunners have been craving since Santi Cazorla’s serious injury. His second and third goals yesterday pushed Ramsey past a memorable milestone; he has now been directly involved in 101 goals in all competitions for Arsenal (53 goals, 48 assists).

Mohamed Elneny and Granit Xhaka are talented players, but in that midfielder engine room, Arsenal need a player with poise and patience. If Ramsey and Jack Wilshere can collectively put their injury nightmares behind them, and with the caliber of Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan joining them, Arsenal finally have the tools to transform themselves from perennial laughing stocks to Premier League powerhouses once more.

Mangala looks a monumental mistake

Eliaquim Mangala has been an unmitigated disaster as a Premier League player, so quite why Sam Allardyce thought he was a suitable acquisition during the winter transfer window is puzzling. Okay, so he beefs up a fragile backline that has looked porous all season.

But the Frenchman is far too ponderous and has been found out on numerous occasions, particularly against free-flowing teams with rapid attackers.

He was slow reacting to Aaron Ramsey’s deflected second goal and hardly provided strength and stability to an incredibly shaky Everton backline – one that conceded four first half goals for the first time in the Premier League – despite consisting of five players.

An article leading up to the game claimed Mangala would bring balance to an Everton side without a left-footed player in the squad – apart from injured left-back Leighton Baines.

His signing might provide Allardyce with more left-footed options, but if the Toffees were hoping to get out of the sticky situation they find themselves in, Mangala is not the man to kick off their shackles.