A big $L$ is formed as shown. What is its area? [asy] unitsize(4mm); defaultpen(linewidth(.8pt));  draw((0,0)--(5,0)--(5,2)--(2,2)--(2,8)--(0,8)--cycle); label("8",(0,4),W); label("5",(5/2,0),S); label("2",(5,1),E); label("2",(1,8),N); [/asy]
We find the area of the big rectangle to be $8 \times 5 = 40$, and the area of the smaller rectangle to be $(8 - 2) \times (5 - 2) = 18$. The answer is then $40 - 18 = 22$ $(A)$. $\fbox{22}$.