According to my son, who was standing on the lower tier of the North Bank, the Arsenal players went through a number of warm up drills which included a series of long range shooting. A precursor for the game ahead perhaps?
As it was the Gunners almost took an early lead from a header inside the 1st minute when Trossard popped up on the right escaping the attention of the many rather large Sunderland defenders and chipped an inviting cross into the Wearsiders box where an unmarked Kai Havertz headed wide. I couldn’t help feeling that that should have been a goal.
Sunderland, like Chelsea, came with a back-five, but unlike Chelsea they attacked and after initially slowing the game down, gave as good as they got. Arteta had made several changes from the Chelsea game with Calafiori starting at left-back whilst up front Trossard, Jesus and Havertz came in with Martinelli, Eze and Gyokeres dropping out.
Sunderland won a free kick some 30 odd yards from goal around 8 minutes and as it was lofted into the Arsenal box the northern giants threw themselves at the cross, Raya bravely went for it and won it but Ballard, leading with his elbow knocked him flying and the ball fell to Brobbery who seemed to have an open goal. Havertz managed to divert the poorly struck shot to safety but it was a warning.
For the next 20 minutes or so the two teams traded blows, literally in the case of wobbly Brobbery who gave Saliba a deep examination of his defensive qualities. Big Bill came out on top but not by a lot. It was an intriguing battle, both intent on exchanging shirts before half-time.
Trossard seemed to have been given a free rein to wander early in the game with Jesus pulling out to the left wing. Great work by Leo, who escapes opponents like an eel, saw him feed Declan Rice on the half hour and Dec bent a beauty of a shot which skimmed the far post, his expression told us how close it was.
The contest was fairly equal up till the last 5 minutes of the first half, Sunderland at one point had Arsenal pressed into our own half in much the same way the Gunners have perfected. Sunderland have a poor away record but they weren’t showing it then on 42 minutes Leo struck. Trossard worked his magic out on the left flank drawing defenders to him and just opening enough space for him to switch an inviting pass inside to Zubimendi. Martin sliced his shot towards the near post deliberately wrong-footing the goalkeeper and it flew into the net off the inside of the post. Zubi then did his Merino dance around the corner flag in honour of his friend who was in the stand.
A minute later as Sunderland kicked off and flooded forward, the Gunners hit them on the break, Trossard again won possession, found Havertz who quickly knocked the ball into the Sunderland half for Jesus, who was loitering on the halfway line, to chase. As Jesus sped into the Sunderland box Ballard clumsily brought him down and the referee pointed to the spot. Only then did the linesman raise his flag, so of course it went to VAR. To me, as an unbiased observer, it looked as if the outstretched arm of the Sunderland defender on the halfway line played Jesus on, but the VAR wouldn’t listen to me.
Into added time Havertz made some space for himself just around the edge of the penalty area and bent a delightful shot around the goalkeeper. Unfortunately it bent the wrong side of the post and left Kai holding his head in disbelief.
H/T 1-0
Sunderland, no doubt with their managers words ringing in their ears, came flying out of the blocks as the 2nd half kicked off. A succession of dangerous long passes flew into the Arsenal box causing consternation among the fans. It was a tricky period but the boys held their nerve. Havertz came close on 53 minutes following a few challenges in the Sunderland penalty area where a Sunderland defender fell in a dramatic fashion, the expected free kick didn’t materialise but fortunately for the ref Kai missed otherwise it would have been bedlam.
On the hour Arteta made a couple of expected changes when the disappointing Jesus and Madueke were withdrawn for Martinelli and Gyokeres. Immediately the Sunderland defence had two forwards prepared to run beyond them into space forcing them to drop deeper. The fresh legs brought a fresh attacking impetus as Arsenal forced Sunderland deeper and deeper and on 66 minutes we got the vital 2nd goal. Trossard once more instigated proceedings along with Calafiori and Rice pinning the Wearsiders in, Havertz then pushed a pass into the middle of the penalty area and Gyokeres found some space to turn and shoot as he slipped, but thankfully found the net.
Almost immediately Arteta took off Havertz and Calafiori, protecting them for the battles ahead and brought on Hincapie and Eze. Sunderland still gave a good account of themselves but maybe the edge was gone from their game and Arsenal managed out time. On 84 minutes a Rice corner flew across the face of the Sunderland goal but nobody in a red shirt could get a touch. Trossard got a knock on 89 and was replaced by Norgaard and we were into added time.
Sunderland threw their last reserves at us but predictably it broke down on the hill of the Gunners rearguard and after one such clearance it fell to Martinelli just inside the Arsenal half. Gabby sprinted away, rounded the desperate attempts of the last Sunderland defender and knocked a simple pass for Gyokeres, who was in support, to address the coup de grace. 3-0, job done, onto the next one.
Afterwards Arteta, who is usually calm and composed, seemed a little relieved and complimented the Wearsiders, he knew it had been a tough tough battle. Villa dropped points so now it’s over to Anfield this afternoon. Liverpool need to win to close up on Chelsea and Man Utd for a top four finish. Saying that, I think five Champions League places are on offer this season.
We march on…
Nice one Kev, thank you.
Morning to you and all.
Just watched the highlights.
Three excellent goals, a couple of dodgy moments from Raya and great to see the players taking shots. The Havertz and Rice efforts were not far off. Havertz early header was awful though. lol
My fingers and toes will be crossed until the end of May in hope that Rice and Zubimendi stay fit. Scrub that, every player stays fit.
Good morning Kev
After an evening at Joys Spice, celebrating my wife”s birthday, I didn’t have the stamina to watch a recording of the game on Sky. I did watch a bit of Motd around 4am and was impressed by the variety of the goals and the variety of the players scoring them.
So, onward and upward with our next game away to Brentford on Thursday evening.
I’m looking forward to it already.
The boys kept their nerve and Gyokeres is finally showing what we’ve always expected from him. Keep it up Gooners
Good morning Rico, did you notice that Henry Arundell scored three tries with his first three touches of the ball. Fantastic!
Morning Cicero, I saw his tries but didn’t realise that. Thought England were pretty good, helped by a dreadful Wales performance.
I left this comment on yesterday’s post.
I read a lot of stuff online about how Gyokeres was a flop but I think most of us here believed he wasn’t clicking with every player. With Havertz, Martinelli too, he seems to be involved more. I always believed he, other new signings too should be given the first half of the season to adjust. Not all need it whilst others do.
Hackett slams PGMOL as Brobbey foul on Zubimendi compared to Romero’s.
He said: “I see no difference in this challenge on that of Cristian Romero earlier today that should have equally received a red card for serious foul play.
“This highlights the inconsistency of delivering an appropriate sanction from the PGMOL officials.“
I was going to post that last night and now Hackett has stolen my thunder. I wanted to watch both in slow motion before I posted it but had the goal not gone in , would we have seen a red card and a penalty ? I doubt it.
I doubt it too.
There were a few dubious challenges and that was just in the highlights.
Many more at the ground , they appeared to be expert at going down with head injuries after every tackle where they lost the ball . The referee fell for all of them , Brobbey was backing in and grabbing Saliba every time until he got booked and then after that he suddenly stopped , having said that I would prefer him to Jesus as back up to big Vik . He certainly put both of our centre backs under pressure as opposed to Jesus who spent most of his time in midfield.
Their numbers 7 and 17 were at it too it’s obviously a tactic they used to stop us getting into a rhythm and it worked until firstly Zubimendi ‘s goal and then when we put Gyokeres on and they suddenly had someone that pushed back.
Afternoon Gooners, thanks for the edit Rico, I forgot that we have 5 CL spots now, I still think that Villa will miss out. I think Rico it’s more a case of our critics in the media wanting Gyokeres to be a flop, he isn’t as easy on the eye as Wirtz or Isak or the boy at United, but he’s been far more productive and effective but those same self critics ignore the others and focus on Viktor.
Yes Mwalenga the boys did hold their nerve, especially in the early part of the second half when Sunderland went for it.
Yeah the ‘tackle’ on Zubimendi could have ended his season, I thought it should have been a red card but because I never expect us to get these decisions, like the Martinelli penalty vs Chelsea, I just shrug my shoulders now. I think Arteta and the players have almost come to accept these decisions which I think leads onto the way we behave at corners. We aren’t going to get the decision so be as manipulative as everyone else, Saliba for example was grabbing Brobbery’s shirt as much as the other way around, Raya was targeted so we target opponents goalies, it’s like WWE.
That’s what I like about Gyokeres, he doesn’t shirk a challenge and gives as good as he gets.
Sad really that the only way a lot of teams think they can beat us is by playing dirty but then with officials prepared to let them, it’s hardly a surprise.
I’ve seen the full game now and that sure was hard fought.
You have to give Sunderland a lot of credit,they didn’t give up,appropriate for Supermendi to get the breakthrough,a brilliant signing. I was so pleased for Gyokeres too.
A lot is made of these players being together a long time,well 3 of yesterday’s starters were signed in the summer,and 4 out of the 5 subs,which tells you recruitment was outstanding.
Every game is a tough test now,I hope Liverpool beat City later with loads of red cards.
Our own fans have been slating him Kev. I get criticism but there’s been a bigger picture with him imo. Is it mere coincidence that we’re moving the ball quicker or is it as simple as Havertz replacing Odegaard, or indeed Eze replacing him. I don’t know..
Brentford might sneak into fifth Kev..
Agree totally Limey.
Afternoon Rico and all. Nice write up Kev.
2 Nice wins in a row; if we keep this up it could make it a bit tricky for Arteta when Saka is back. Hopefully Liverpool beat City with one of their lucky very late goals.
Kind of graphic :- https://www.reddit.com/r/Gunners/comments/1qyjwop/no_red_card/?share_id=cxvdvuFQlIHzDwCBLKk1Y&utm_content=2&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1
Brilliant 1-0 defeat of top of the table Man City. 👏👏
Afternoon Geoff, I hope the Scousers batter City.
That’s a shocking challenge. No booking so could be dealt with post game. Not that it will.
Afternoon all, good report Kev. Thought Jesus unlucky to be offside, his feet were in his own half, and after all, it is foot ball! Another fine win using squad well, hope Trossard ok as it’s really working well, swopping with Martinelli.
Good afternoon Rico and all.
A good match report Kev. I will be toasting a glass of wine to you soon.
I was against Jesus from the beginning of the match. I preferred Gyokeres. But loolking back now it seems that Mikel Arteta got his tactics spot on against Sunderland and that was playing Jesus from the beginning. Although I kept asking what did Jesus offer in terms of goals/assists/chances created? But his limited effectiveness in the first half pushed Sunderland to play attacking football and a high line because there was practically no one winning the first ball for us and we had to keep playing from the back through the midfield. That set up Sunderland to have a go at us from the beginning.
So when VG14 came on in the second half, Sunderland already 1-0 down and chasing the game where caught in crossroads and suddenly had to fall back more and try to hold off Gyok and connected wing play. Gyökeres did superbly to win first balls and distribute to others which eventually lead to his first goal. Jesus does bring unpredictable moves in attack but Gyökeres brings so much more directness into the game and that needs to continue, so expect us to see more of that in the coming weeks, especially in the EPL.
In Europe its different. So expect Martinelli, Gyok and Havertz to begin more games in that competition. Even in the CC final and the FA cup I feel that they will begin matches rather than others.
It’s a bonkers rule Andrew, should be feet and feet alone imo.
Afternoon Devil.
Three open play goals. So what will our critics highlight that we did wrong?
The pundits will grumble that we didnt score an own goal or from a set piece. That shows that we are not consistent.
We are crap and don’t score corners anymore.
They will think we didn’t celebrate enough at the end and that the worst team ran out 3-0 winners!!!!!
We just battered a newly promoted side.
Gyokeres keeps falling over every time he scores.
We didnt give Oweng Oals and Setpi ece a chance to play. Kept them benched.
Kevin Shade will be suspended for Brentford in the game against the Gunners up next after receiving a red card against Aston Villa last week. Cristian Romero will be suspended for the North London Derby later this month after receiving a red card against Manchester United yesterday. That’s awesome.
And If Spuds lose their next 2 games and we win ours happy St Totteringham Day. Quite early in February. And no the wine didnt make me dizzy. I did the maths. Happy days Lass and fellas
Talkshit, the metro and all the other media tosspots are going to be in mourning all week
I’ve given up reading what they write because they are irrelevant.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1586497622715951
Thanks Dev and Andrew, just watching City at Liverpool and Liverpool haven’t been that great, they certainly seemed to put in more effort against us.
Was just about to say the same Kev. Strange old game.
City have been by far the best side in what has been a very poor poor game regardless of the commentator bigging up the contest.
I see that Arteta’s 16 year old son Gabriel has been involved with the U18’s.
Yeah Rico, it seems to lack the edge you’d expect, but that’s suits City who look more likely to score, Guehi and Semenyo both look good, unfortunately…
Let’s hope Liverpool improve second half.
I hope Arteta’s son is better than his dad in time. 😜
I didn’t even notice they were playing Kev. lol
Marmoush has been the player I keep spotting.
Kev, that is a question I have pondered for a long time. So we make teams look better than they actually are due to our playing style or do they up their game when playing against us?? Does our playing style actually work against us??
Liverpool certainly played better against us. As do most teams. We are no longer bullied anymore nowadays, but teams just play a low block in their penalty area and stifle space. Then they hit us on the break.
SAF and Allardyce have seen to us being bullied and they used the tactics of getting in our faces. However, with our style we have developed a hardness which cant be bullied anymore, yet nowadays they see that our own tactics can be defeated by putting everyone behind the ball and give us the ball to play with.
Yesterday they couldnt. because we began with Jesus and not VG14. Had we began with VG14 the narrative would have been the same. As the game went on players got tired and that means recovery and behind the ball tactics go out of the window as teams become stretched. Had Saka been ok we would have seen an attack of Saka, Gyokeres, MArtinelli. Speed and raw strength. Especially as they were chasing a goal being 0-1 down.
Szoboszlai makes it 1-0.
When Szoboszlai hit that one against us , many of us me included said that he would never do it again .
Well he just did .
And then Liverpool cock it up
He did!
Liverpool hit by their own habits, a late penalty. Bum!
For a few minutes I thought the title had just got a bit closer. But Liverpool blew it!
Liverpool certainly cocked it up. they should have been out of sight by the time City got their first.
Same as us. We should have been out of sight by now with regards points. I feel we should have 7 more points at least.
As do I. But then most fans probably think that about their teams.
It just adds to all the excitement 🙂
It does 😜
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