Anderlecht vs Arsenal player ratings: Who was the star man on Arsene Wenger's 65th birthday?

Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2

Wednesday 22 October 2014 23:59 BST

Kieran Gibbs celebrates his goal with Nacho Monreal (GETTY IMAGES)

Kieran Gibbs and Lukas Podolski scored in the final minutes to give Arsenal a stunning 2-1 victory over Anderlecht and a Champions League birthday present to manager Arsene Wenger.

With defeat seeming assured, Gibbs brought Arsenal back into the game in the 89th minute with a low volley. Podolski followed up from close range in stoppage time after a goalmouth scramble to keep the London side second in Group D.

Anderlecht had sensed victory after midfielder Andy Najar gave the Belgian champion a 1-0 lead with a powerful header which wrong-footed Arsenal's third-choice goalie Emiliano Martinez in the 71st minute.

But who was the star man for the Gunners? Click through our ratings gallery below

Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings

Show all 12

1/12Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings

Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings

Arsenal: Emiliano Martinez

Made some decent saves and looked confident coming out to deal with through balls. Could not be faulted for the goal. 6/10

Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings

Calum Chambers

Beaten on a few occasions by the pacy Gohi Bi Cyriac but did excellently to set up Kieran Gibbs’s equaliser with strong run and cross. 6

Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings

Per Mertesacker

Lost his way towards the end as Arsenal became stretched looking for goals after falling behind. 5

Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings

Nacho Monreal

Didn’t look entirely comfortable at centre-back, and received a booking after just eight minutes. 5

Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings

Kieran Gibbs

Reigned in his attacking instincts for much of the game but popped up with wonderfully-taken late goal. 6

Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings

Mathieu Flamini

Patrolled the midfield with his usual tenacity and kept the ball sensibly for the most part. Substituted for the final 15 minutes. 5

Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings

Jack Wilshere

Tried to make things happen in the middle of the park but found himself shackled for long periods and made way seven minutes before the end. 5

Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings

Santi Cazorla

Worked hard but missed good chance with low effort early in the second half and lost the ball on a few occasions. 5

Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings

Aaron Ramsey

Didn’t look fully fit and struggled to get into the game. Surprising he was allowed to stay on for the whole 90 minutes. 5

Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings

Alexis Sanchez

Worked hard but missed good chance with low effort early in the second half and lost the ball on a few occasions. 7

Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings

Danny Welbeck

Took up some good positions with intelligent darts in behind the hosts’ defence but couldn’t make telling contribution. 5

Anderlecht 1 Arsenal 2 player ratings

Best of the bench: Lukas Podolski

The German predator was only on the pitch for the final seven minutes but he scored the winner from close range with typical aplomb. 6

Dortmund leads the group with nine points ahead of Arsenal, whose coach Wenger celebrated his 65th birthday on Wednesday, with six points.

Anderlecht and Galatasaray have one point each.

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