 Arsenal came into the game with Manchester United topping the EPL table for the first time this season. But the Gunners had 2 games in hand and have been in terrific form.
Roy Keane's Sunderland team have been battling and so far have been able to avoid sitting in the relegation zone.
Arsenal came out of the blocks with all guns blazing and after only 5 minutes Diaby smashed the ball into the net from outside the box, but referee Rob Styles had already blown the whistle for a foul on Fabregas. Arsenal were able to get justice when Van Persie blasted the free kick off the crossbar and into the goal; the shot was so powerful that goal keeper Craig Gordon didn't have time to move his arms.
In the 13th minute Sunderland's botched corner clearance was crossed back into the box, and Senderos' miss kicked shot wrong footed Gordon for Arsenal's second goal.
Sunderland didn't give up and continued to try and control the ball instead of going into a shell. They played the ball around well and didn't resort to the long ball.
When Diaby slotted the ball into the goal in the 20th minute it looked like the score line was surely going to get out of hand. However the goal was disallowed by a controversial offside decision.
On the 24th minute, totally against the run of play, Kenwyne Jones' shot was blocked by the Arsenal keeper and fell to Wallace, who calmly pulled the score back to 2-1.
The first 20 minutes had almost been too easy for Arsenal and they had started showboating and losing concentration. The Wallace goal seemed to greatly affect the Gunners' confidence.
Sunderland were able to keep Arsenal from creating as many chances and managed to get into half time with the score still at 2-1.
Whatever Roy Keane said to his side at half time definitely worked as they came right out and equalized, through Kenwyne Jones, in the 48th minute.
The football on show in the second half was not as eye catching as in the first but both teams fought hard, throwing all their energy into the match.
The frustration increased towards the end of the game; especially on the Arsenal side. The Gunners borught on Walcott, who looked very lively and put the spring back into the team's step.
Finally in the on 79th minute Arsenal broke the deadlock when Van Persie shot home his second goal of the match. Sunderland never looked like having a 3th goal in them, and the game was all but over when McShane slide into a dangerous tackle in the 89th minute and received a straight red card.
The game ended 3-2 and Arsenal reclaim their spot at the top of the table.
Overall Match Rating: 5 out of 5 |
