Arsenal Make Easy Work of Black Cats as a Legend Looks On

The Moment That Was Made Immortal in Bronze



After suffering the agonizing defeat at the hands of Bayern on Wednesday, watching Arsenal comfortably win against Sunderland 4-1 was a relief.  Arsenal fans have been angst-ridden (overly so, in my opinion) and angry the last few days, so today's win, and Bergkamp statue unveiling beforehand, was a much needed ray of sunshine and bodes well for next week's match at Stoke.

Giroud looked back on his game.  Having "rested" for two games looks to have done Ollie a world of good.  Two goals and two assists in one game is a reminder of his previous form.  His second goal may be written off as a mistake by Sunderland, but if you watch the play, Giroud anticipates the back pass and finishes the shot at a very tight angle.  Whether he was benched because of fatigue or as a disciplinary action, the effect is encouraging.

Ozil injured?  I'd be surprised if any of us expected Ozil to play today.  After having made 32 appearances for the club this season, adjusting to a more rigorous playing schedule, and suffering from his penalty miss, taking a rest was warranted and deserved.  Wenger, though, I think surprised everyone when he explained Ozil's absence as him having a "thigh injury' from a kick.  Weird.  Was he actually considering playing him if he didn't come up injured? 

Substitutions were made mostly due to injuries.  It's not like we aren't used to having injuries, but to have to use two substitutions in the middle of a game for injured players is a tad unusual.  Thankfully we were in control of the match, otherwise, needed tactical changes may have been made impossible.  There are concerns of course.  Monreal is our backup for the injured Gibbs and our backup centerback isn't due back until March 1st.  (Update:  It looks like all of the injured players from today will be back for next week's match.)  Thankfully, Corporal Jenkinson and Flamini were able to deputize on the flanks while Sagna moved to the middle to cover for Lolo.  Which leads me to my next point.

Sagna is as versatile a player as Arsenal have had.  Give him what he wants!  This guy can bomb forward with endless energy, shove someone off the ball, cross with his weak foot, has amazing hops, and wins headers.   I know I am being repetitive here, but if AFC can't see the wisdom in upping his salary and breaking their "players over 30 only get a two year extension" rule, I will question their footballing brains more than the press questioned Theo's.  C'mon!

Szczesny made a couple of great saves.  Here and here.  I wonder, though, if Sunderland would have scored their one goal, if he had caught this free kick instead of punching it away.  I realize we were winning 4-0, but considering winning the title may come down to the Goal Differential column and the team in first place is three goals ahead of us in that department, little mistakes like that are costly.

Sunderland were pretty awful - especially in the first half  I enjoyed our complete dominance and it seemed like some of the Sunderland players were maybe focused on not getting hurt for their big game next Sunday.  They gave us oodles of space and made almost no tackles (although they made 15 by the end of the match) and had no shots of goal. Poyet must have screamed at them in the locker room at halftime because they came and pressed us higher up the pitch.  Still - pretty bad stuff.  They seemed to be in an upward trend before today, and I hope they can get back on track with that by winning the Cup and beating Chelsea in April - for Vito's sake as well as ours.

I think that's all for now.  We have a whole week before we play again.  On one hand, I'm glad the players get a break, on the other I know I'm going to be terrifically bored midweek and scrounging for scraps of team news.  I'll be back for a Stoke preview. 

Until then, have a good one Gooners.