Sunderland 1 - 3 Arsenal: That was eventful

After the drab international break, it was great to have a game where plenty happened, even if it wasn't great for the heart. We've been waiting anxiously for this game for a while and it, as well as Özil's début, certainly delivered.

Injury to Cazorla meant that the supposedly ill Özil would have to start the game and he hit the ground the running, looking every bit the perfect fit we thought he would be. Playing in Cazrola's free role, he drifted to either flank and occupied central areas and linked-up very well with Wilshere. Wilshere's movement was also very good, as whenever Özil came into the middle, he went out wide. Flamini and Ramsey, meanwhile, played a bit further back, with Flamini acting as the holding player and Ramsey looking to win the ball back and initiate attacks.

Combined with Giroud's link-up play and two supporting fullbacks, Arsenal kept the ball very well against a plucky Sunderland side. More importantly, they created a fair number of chances, with Özil creating at least three chances, one of which was converted by Giroud and the other two were wasted by Walcott. Defensively, the new centre back partnership of Sagna and Koscielny held up okay, and Sunderland were restricted to set-pieces for chances. Other than the Diakite header that hit the bar, I don't recall a decent chance they had in the first half.

The second half was a more difficult affair as we conceded a penalty just three minutes into it. From my view, it wasn't a penalty, but I'll go into more detail on that later. Gardner scored it and, with the crowd behind them, Sunderland started to come into the game more and started to create some problems for us. We kept our composure, though, and kept trying to keep the ball and get the game back under control. One decent period of possession resulted in us retaking the lead through an excellently taken Ramsey goal.

Then we got lucky. Altidore out muscled Sagna and went on to score, but the ref decided to call play back for a free-kick for whatever reason. Had the ref made the correct call and allowed play to go on, the game would have ended a lot differently.

Our performance in the second half wasn't as good as it was in the first, perhaps due to Sunderland not giving us as much time and space they did in the first half. We definitely needed another goal to kill the game off and thankfully got it with Ramsey starting and getting on the end of a slick move.

Overall, it was a good performance where we, for once, created a good number of chances and scored some good goals. Defensively, there were a couple of bad moments and we got a fair amount of luck, but then, you could argue we were due some luck with referees. Everyone performed well, too.

If there are any concerns, it would be that Walcott has yet to find the back of the net despite having the chances to do so. His finishing so far hasn't been as sharp as it was last season, but he is, at least, getting into the positions to score and is causing teams problems with his pace and movement.

Our mounting injuries are also a major concern, with players seemingly dropping like flies right not; Cazorla now joins the list, and Giroud scared us all when hurt his knee late on today. We've got a few very winnable games coming up and it'd be a shame to see a potential run of good form be curtailed by injuries.

how long is cazorla out for?

Cazorla is injured as well  

Ramsey.. the new Lampard

Wenger says he doesn't think Cazorla will play before the next international break, which around the 11th of October.

So about four weeks. He'll miss games against Stoke, Swansea and West Brom in the league, West Brom in the cup (which he would have been rested for, anyway) and the Champions League games against Marseille and Napoli.

lol.. You've got to be joking

What the hell is going at Arsenal? one returns next one goes. 

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BUIsNxbIQAA8yPJ.jpg:large

Mesut
alt+0214

i think this is the most beautiful football from us in the last 2 seasons.. we are back to beautiful possession football.. we are again the most entertaining team in the league.. <3
Sunderland started the game on a high note pressing hard and getting physical.. but soon paid the price for it.. we started breaking them with ease.. Ozil although didnt look matchfit was enough to assist Giroud in his first move.. and provided Walcott with 2 chances.. Sunderland realised that their approach will not work and changed to a more defensive approach which allowed us to play our beautiful passing game.. i think we were playing more of a 4-1-3-2 today.. with Flamini staying back completely and giving freedom for Jack and Ramsey to roam around and play.. it was great to see Ramsey and Wilshere full of energy playing together.. Ozil looked tired but showed his class when called upon.. Giroud had an exceptional game.. great finish for his goal.. brilliant interlink play and one touch passing which resulted in an assist too.. (that twisted knee is really giving me scares.. hope he is fine).. Ramsey has now grown so much in confidence that he is now finishing the good runs he makes.. the width was provided by the full backs.. Jenko has improved his attacking play and is looking a better player.. Walcott is suffering a bit of goal draught and lacking that sharpness which he showed last season.. i am sure he will take off when he scores a couple of goals.. our defenders fared well against Sunderland giants.. Koscielny went for a needless challenge and i think it is a penalty.. may be a bit overconfident.. and we were lucky that Altidore was denied the advantage which could have changed the result..
overall i am very happy.. i felt we just went back 2 years in time.. and i expect more of such matches.. now many teams will respect the quality of our midfield and will prefer to stand back and defend, which will make things easier for us...
and the season is looking promising, only if injuries have mercy on us..
Sczeny - 6
Gibbs - 7
Kos - 6
Sagna - 6.5
Jenko - 7
Flamini - 6.5
Wilshere - 7
Ozil - 7
Ramsey - 8
Walcott - 6
Giroud - 8.5 MOM

So

Flamini Ramsey
Wilshere
Walcott Ozil

Did work v.well in the 1st half

Wilshere best position was where he played today but the problem is that position we have cazorla and rosicky also

@_OlivierGiroud_My knee is ok don't worry! Thanks for your support!

Maybe its just me but i think i can see why it was disallowed. Sagna commits the foul outside the box. From there you'd think that you could play on coz Altidore still has the ball, however the manner in which Altidore pushed Sagna away with his hands tells me he committed a foul too, so that leaves you with two options. You play on because both men have comitted fouls and altidore was the victim of the original foul and he still has the ball. Or you stop play because in order to get away from Sagna who committed the foul, Altidore himself had to push Sagna with his hands and that in itself is a foul, so you stop play and award Altidore a free-kick because he was fouled first.

I guess i can understand why the ref stopped play. Although i'm not saying it was the right or wrong call.

It certainly was an eventful game. We should have been 3-4 up had Walcott finished off his chances in first half.

Second half Sunderland clearly had Di Canio half-time kick up the backside and were on top at times.

Altidore is always a handful, the ref got THAT event right, but why Sagna wasn't sent off was weird.

Another good win though, our superb form continues and with all these injuries it's even more sweet.

Flamini and Wilshere were superb. Ramsey & Ozil were influential. Giroud is just growing and growing too.

Szczesny 6.5
Jenkinson 6.5
Sagna 6.5
Koscielny 6.5
Gibbs 7
Flamini 7
Wilshere 7
Ramsey 8
Walcott 5.5
Ozil 8
Giroud 8

Great to have Vermaelen back fit too, and Giroud & Mertesacker seem fine for Marseille trip.

I feel Ozil's presence helped motivate Ramsey and Wilshere to put in the kind of performances they did today.
Walcot needs to find the composure he had last year coz this season could b by far, his most productive, with the service he'll b getting from Ozil.

If thats how a sick Ozil plays, The Rest of EPL beware.
Defence needs a bit of work though and I think Gibbs was quite often not given enough support defensively

Themes of today's analysis: space between the lines, runners from midfield and runners in behind.  

Early on in the match, Sunderland attempted to play a high pressure game. Executed correctly, a high pressure game can make even the best midfields struggle to have dictate the game. However, there is a sizeable downside to playing that well: you leave space in behind if you press too much.

For our first goal, it was Diakite's desire to get tight to our players and win the ball back that helped create the opening that we eventually exploited.

Arsenal's First Goal:

Our second goal was a good example of the benefit of having midfielders arrive late into the penalty area.

Arsenal's Second Goal:

Our third goal was all about Ramsey's movement.

Arsenal's Third Goal:

There were many times last season that we didn't have that sort of movement from midfield. Having it creates more opportunities for the final pass to be played and there're encouraging signs that it's returning to our game. There are also a few hints of how dangerous we can potentially be.

Runners from midfield and runners in behind:

Sina wrote:

The build up to our 2nd yesterday was better

Giroud and Ramsey just continues to surprise me more every game.
And I'm loving it.

We need to put a buy out clause on Rambo and Jack fast,they're the future of our midfield.

When everyone is healthy, is this what possibly Arsenal will look like on the field?

-Santi------Giroud------Walcott
------Ramsey------Ozil
------------Wilshire
Gibbs-----Kos-----Mert-----Sagna

?

Im asking cause I have Ramsey on my fantasy team and I am wondering how long it will be before he might get benched lol. He is in great form though and I hope he keeps playing (not just of my fantasy team, I've always liked Arsenal and wish you guys luck)

Also where do you figure is Wilshire's best position? As a deep play making DM like I have him the formation listed or better off as more of a CM with a defensive mid next to him (insert Arteta remove Ramsey)

Twoism wrote:We need to put a buy out clause on Rambo and Jack fast,they're the future of our midfield.

Why would we put a buy out clause on them then? If we don't have those clauses, we have the ability to turn down offers at any price, but if we put clauses in their contracts, no matter how high, some crazy owner can walk along any day and force us to accept their massive offers if they reach the clause amounts. Having a release clause makes it more difficult to hold onto players...

windkick wrote:When everyone is healthy, is this what possibly Arsenal will look like on the field?

-Santi------Giroud------Walcott
------Ramsey------Ozil
------------Wilshire
Gibbs-----Kos-----Mert-----Sagna

?

Im asking cause I have Ramsey on my fantasy team and I am wondering how long it will be before he might get benched lol. He is in great form though and I hope he keeps playing (not just of my fantasy team, I've always liked Arsenal and wish you guys luck)

Also where do you figure is Wilshire's best position? As a deep play making DM like I have him the formation listed or better off as more of a CM with a defensive mid next to him (insert Arteta remove Ramsey)

Wilshere is a dribbler who drives past people and assists in the build-up play with his passing. He is not a very defensive player. When he played next to Arteta last season, our midfield got overrun game after game whenever we lost the ball, and on that note, Arteta is a great tactician but I certainly wouldn't call him a straight up defensive midfielder. Wilshere worked well deeper when he used to play next to Song, a natural DM, and he has developed a good understanding with Ramsey as holding players in recent games, but Wilshere is never going to be the deepest player in an Arsenal midfield.

You might have been mistaken about the type of role Ramsey plays in our team due to his goals in recent weeks, but Ramsey is being used as a holding midfielder these days. When Arteta is fit, Ramsey will likely still start next to him behind Ozil and in front of the backline in a lot of games, although one of them could be benched for Wilshere depending on form. Also, if Diaby ever returns from his never-ending injuries, I would not be surprised one bit to see him start regularly. Basically, it's hard to say who will miss out if everyone is fit because they are all very important players for us, but for now I wouldn't worry about it

windkick wrote:When everyone is healthy, is this what possibly Arsenal will look like on the field?

-Santi------Giroud------Walcott
------Ramsey------Ozil
------------Wilshire
Gibbs-----Kos-----Mert-----Sagna

?

Im asking cause I have Ramsey on my fantasy team and I am wondering how long it will be before he might get benched lol. He is in great form though and I hope he keeps playing (not just of my fantasy team, I've always liked Arsenal and wish you guys luck)

Also where do you figure is Wilshire's best position? As a deep play making DM like I have him the formation listed or better off as more of a CM with a defensive mid next to him (insert Arteta remove Ramsey)

We've actually had this debate before and couldn't come to a conclusion. Some, like myself, said that Wilshere's best position is a little deeper - not AM, not DM - more like a b2b midfielder. Because he's best attributes is that of a CM. He can make long passes, he has the vision, he can tackle, and his trademark are those long bursting, direct runs from the midfield in behind the opposition's last midfielder.

Then there are some who say his best position is at AM. But I seriously can't see him playing there now. We have two players now in Özil and Cazorla who are better than him in that position.