Arsenal vs Standard Liege: Gabriel Martinelli dazzles in Gunners rout - 5 things we learned

Arsenal 4-0 Standard Liege: The Brazilian was sensational at the Emirates, scoring twice and assisting one more

Gabriel Martinelli shone, scoring twice as Arsenal swept aside Standard Liege 4-0 at Emirates Stadium on Thursday night.

Joe Willock scored Arsenal’s third shortly after the Brazilian’s double before Dani Ceballos’ second-half strike.

Along with his goals, Martinelli impressed with his general play and played the decisive pass for Ceballos’ goal.

Arsenal are now top Group F by three points as they maintained their perfect start to the competition.

Standard Liege remain in second as Eintracht Frankfurt sneak behind them in third on goal difference.

1: Gabriel Martinelli can make Europa League his own

Picking up where he left off, the Brazilian was Arsenal’s shining light against Standard Liege. At just 18-years-old, the way in which he took his goals showed the maturity of a natural goalscorer beyond his years.

His first goal was taken expertly as he flicked his diving header across Miliinkovic-Savic and into the far corner after great movement. As for his second, he showed great spatial awareness in the box, hesitating to buy an extra yard before whipping his shot into the far corner yet again. The movement and execution for his assist to Dani Ceballos was equally special.

Showing that he’s good enough to produce at this level, he could make the Europa League his own this year.

Gabriel Martinelli celebrates his double (EPA)

2: Kieran Tierney is ready for the Premier League

Like Martinelli, Kieran Tierney hit the ground running after his impressive debut. Not afraid to take his man on, the Scot showed intent from the off and was rewarded within minutes. His inch-perfect cross was nodded home by Martinelli on 13 minutes but he wasn’t finished there. He continued to bomb down the left flank and was a handful for Standard Liege.

Arsenal’s next Premier League game may to be too early for Tierney as it comes on Sunday but has shown what he is about. Taking his man on, delivering pinpoint crosses and calm defending. Sead Kolasinac has been a decent outlet down the left for Arsenal but Tierney looks much more assured on both sides of the ball and could help Arsenal kick on another gear.

The Gunners celebrate at the Emirates (EPA)

3: Maitland-Niles still recovering

The past few weeks have been tough for Maitland-Niles, but he hasn’t found his form just yet. Playing further upfield, the 22-year-old didn’t look as confident as some of his teammates which had an effect on some Arsenal attacks.

On occasion he would stumble over or miss-control the ball. Still a young player, this will not be the making of his career but it will be important that he learns from this indifferent spell in his career.

(EPA)

4: Back On Top

In his third appearance of the season, Shkodran Mustafi kept his third clean sheet. Even though he was troubled too often, the German held his ground well when needed. With Arsenal’s defence under scrutiny in the Premier League, the centre back may be wondering what more he has to do to get into Unai Emery’s main squad but like fellow countryman Mesut Ozil who also doesn’t look to be in the Spaniard’s plans.

(Getty Images)

5: Europa League fails to satisfy Emirates faithful

As has been the case for Arsenal’s two previous seasons in the Europa League, Emirates Stadium struggles to fill. Although the club listed the game as sold out, pockets of seats were visible across the ground.

The Europa League, of course, isn’t a competition Arsenal want to be in, but with a chance to see a performance like Martinelli’s tonight, maybe these are games fans should be heading to.