Sunderland 1-3 Arsenal
Mesut Ozil began life as an
Arsenal player with a truly sumptuous display at Sunderland on Saturday. The
German international, signed on the last day of the transfer window and
therefore at the start of the last international break, had only been able to
participate in a light training session with his new teammates on Thursday,
before having to miss the Friday session due to illness.
Yet Ozil underlined his world
class credentials with a performance which left Arsenal supporters awestruck
and excited for the future. Particularly in the first half, Ozil’s first touch,
movement and vision were a joy to behold as he seamlessly fitted into the
Arsenal midfield, as if he had been playing there for years.
He started the game in his
favoured number 10 role, just behind the main striker, Olivier Giroud, but constantly
moved across the midfield, creating different angles and options for the player
in possession as well as making it almost impossible for the opposition to pick
him up. Ozil’s first touch is just sublime. He brings the ball under his
control instantly which then gives him the time to look up and pick out a pass
before a tackle is made and like all world class players, he sees things and
reacts to them faster than anybody else.
It was this trait which led to
Arsenal opening the scoring on Saturday, with Ozil taking only 11 minutes to get
his first assist for the Gunners. As Kieran Gibbs gained possession in his own
half, Ozil immediately saw the opportunity for a quick attack, identified open
space on the left wing and raced into it. Gibbs duly clipped the ball forward,
towards his new teammate; and Ozil, with the ball arriving over his shoulder,
nonchalantly stuck out a leg and exquisitely brought the ball under his
control. This allowed him the time to take a look and spot Giroud’s run, before
picking the Frenchman out with a perfectly weighted pass, which Giroud duly
stroked into the net for his fourth goal of the season.
Having survived an immediate
scare as Modibo Diakite’s header came crashing back against the bar, the
Gunners controlled the first half, with the attacking midfield quartet of
Wilshere, Ramsey, Ozil and Walcott all interchanging beautifully amongst each
other, creating space and therefore goal scoring opportunities. Walcott was the
main recipient of these chances. Ozil sent the English man through on goal
twice but Kieran Westwood, in the Sunderland goal, saved well on both
occasions, although Walcott really should have scored. Just before halftime,
Wilshere exchanged passes with Ozil, before crossing the ball to the back post
for Walcott, who could only head wide. The Gunners had enjoyed such control
over proceedings; the game should have really been over as a contest.
Yet having failed to increase
their lead in the first half and with Paolo Di Canio undoubtedly giving a
rousing half time team talk, Arsenal knew they would have to weather an early
storm in the second half. Unfortunately the Gunners showed once again that when
under intense pressure, they struggle to cope defensively. As Sunderland
launched a series of high balls into the Arsenal penalty area, the Gunners just
could not clear their lines and an air of panic set in. As the ball was nodded
into the path of Adam Johnson in the area, Koscielny needlessly dove into a
tackle which didn’t need to be made and brought the Sunderland man down,
leaving the referee no choice but to award the penalty. Craig Gardner stepped
up and sent Szczesny the wrong way to restore parity.
Suddenly, Arsenal were faced with
a completely different prospect, as the crowd inside the Stadium of Light rose
as one to get behind their side. Sunderland began to win the 50-50 challenges
and started to offer a real threat to the Arsenal goal. Steven Fletcher thought
he had given the home side the lead, but was correctly ruled to have been
offside, before Gardner saw his free kick bounce back off the post.
However, the Gunners regrouped
and started to hold onto possession once more as they began to regain a
foothold in the match. In the 67th minute, Carl Jenkinson raced down
the right wing, before cutting the ball back to Ramsey on the edge of the box.
The Welshman, who has been absolutely outstanding so far this season, unleashed
an unstoppable first time volley, which flew past Westwood and into the back of
the net to restore Arsenal’s lead.
Yet despite this setback,
Sunderland refused to give in and pushed forward once more. Di Canio’s men
could have equalised again had referee Martin Atkinson allowed play to go on
with Jozy Altidore and Sagna tussling with each other on the edge of the box.
Just as the referee blew his whistle, Altidore broke free and saw his shot
trickle over the line, but play had to be brought back for the original foul.
It was a lucky escape and from
this moment on, Arsenal never looked baack, going on to increase their lead in
the 76th minute. Ozil played a pass forward into Giroud, who showed
great skill and vision to flick the ball into the path of Ramsey in the box.
The Welshman coolly snuck the ball past the onrushing Westwood to secure all
three points for the Gunners.
Going forward, especially in the
first half, Arsenal were exceptional at times. Of course, with such a wonderful
array of attacking midfield talent, the Gunners will be susceptible to counter
attacks. Wenger must ensure that the player deployed as the holding midfielder,
in this case Flamini, is as disciplined as possible and sits back to help protect
the back four. If they can make this slight adjustment as well as continuing to
create chances at will, the Gunners will be a real force to be reckoned with
this season.
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