Arsenal moved up to second in the Premier League table by recording a 2-0 victory over Stoke City this afternoon.

Alexis Sanchez saw a header saved by Jack Butland, before the Chilean fired a strike onto the post, as the Gunners made a strong start.

Arsenal finally made the breakthrough when Theo Walcott latched onto Mesut Ozil's pass and clipped a shot beyond the keeper.

Stoke rarely threatened and Olivier Giroud grabbed a second in the closing stages with a header from Santi Cazorla's free kick to make the points safe.

Here, Sports Mole rates the best and worst performances from the Emirates.

ARSENAL

Goal

Petr Cech: Assured performance from the Czech, who was not overly troubled, but dealt with everything that came his way and commanded his area well throughout. (7/10)

Defence

Hector Bellerin: Got forward well down the right all afternoon and delivered a number of telling crosses into the box. Was also solid down his flank and kept Shaqiri quiet for large spells. (7/10)

Laurent Koscielny: Solid performance from the defender who won everything in the air. He was composed on the ball and almost scored with a stunning strike in the first half that Butland tipped over. (7/10)

Gabriel Paulista: The Brazilian produced another composed display and was never caught out of position. Looks to be forming a strong partnership with Koscielny in Mertesacker's absence. (7/10)

Nacho Monreal: Always looked to push forward and help his team out when they were on the attack and was solid at the back throughout the match. (7/10)

Midfield

Francis Coquelin: Tidy display in the centre of the pitch, with his sliding tackle leading to Arsenal's first goal of the afternoon. (7/10)

Santi Cazorla: Classy performance as always from the Spaniard. Created a number of chances for his teammates and set up Giroud's goal with a fine free kick. (8/10)

Mesut Ozil: Set up the opening goal for Walcott with a precise ball over the defence. Showed some other neat touches throughout and came close with a couple of strikes. (7/10)

Aaron Ramsey: Put in a huge amount of effort for his team, but the final product was missing and he wasted a huge chance to test the keeper in the early stages of the second half with a poor wayward shot. (6/10)

Alexis Sanchez: Made a strong start to the match and had two great chances to score inside the opening eight minutes. He was busy throughout and many of his team's best moves went through him. (8/10)

Attack

Theo Walcott: Scored the opening goal for Arsenal with a well-taken strike after latching onto Ozil's pass. He did miss a number of other chances to score again, but a combination of poor finishing and fine goalkeeping stopped him. (7/10)

Substitutes

Olivier Giroud: Came off the bench to wrap up the points for Arsenal with a firm header in the last five minutes. However, he also missed a huge chance from close range just after his introduction that a striker of his quality should have scored. (7/10)

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Brought on for the final six minutes and had little time to make an impact. (6/10)

Mikel Arteta: Arrived at the same time as Oxlade-Chamberlain and also saw little of the ball as Arsenal held on for the win. (6/10)

STOKE CITY

Goal

Jack Butland: Superb goalkeeping display from the England international. Made a string of outstanding saves to keep Stoke in the match for so long and without him the final score could have been much worse. (9/10)

Defence

Phil Bardsley: Was given a huge amount of problems in the opening stages as Sanchez constantly got in behind him, but he improved throughout the afternoon. (6/10)

Geoff Cameron: Struggled to deal with the pace of Walcott and was left helpless as the England international raced beyond him to score the opening goal. (6/10)

Marc Muniesa: Another who struggled to deal with the pace of the Arsenal attack, but did make some vital challenges inside his own box. (6/10)

Erik Pieters: Kept Ramsey quiet for most of the game, but was given more problems by Bellerin who got in behind him on a number of occasions. (6/10)

Midfield

Marco van Ginkel: Was completely overrun by Arsenal in the centre of the pitch and did not see enough of the ball to make a difference. (5/10)

Glenn Whelan: Struggled to keep possession in the midfield and needlessly gave the ball away to his opponents throughout the first half. (5/10)

Xherdan Shaqiri: The Swiss international was Stoke's biggest threat this afternoon. He forced Cech into a smart save at his near post and tried to create chances for his side early in the second half. (6/10)

Mame Biram Diouf: Was forced back for large spells as his team came under heavy pressure and lacked composure when he did receive possession. (5/10)

Marko Arnautovic: Worked hard for his team throughout the match, but was never given any chance to impress further up the pitch. (6/10)

Attack

Joselu: Failed to cause any problems for Koscielny and Gabriel and was replaced by Ireland early in the second half after a subdued performance. (5/10)

Substitutes

Stephen Ireland: Saw very little of the ball as Arsenal continued to dominate the midfield following his introduction. (5/10)

Bojan Krkic: Looked bright after coming on for the final 15 minutes and almost marked his return from injury with a goal when his powerful strike flew just wide of the post. (6/10)