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Arsenal returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a 3-1 win against Sunderland at the Emirates. Goals from Joel Campbell, Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey moved the Gunners up to second in the table, two points behind Leicester City with a Giroud own goal ensuring Sunderland denied Petr Cech a clean sheet.
Here are the player ratings from the game.
Arsenal
Petr Cech – 8/10
Assured and composed, it was an excellent outing from the experienced shotstopper. He made a couple of good saves to deny Fabio Borini and Steven Fletcher’s header from a corner. Overall, he was calm and his usual self but could not keep the clean sheet he needs to equal David James’s EPL record.
Hector Bellerin – 6/10
He was troubled by Van Aanholt late in the second half and almost granted him and Sunderland a way back into the game. But. fortunately for the right-back, the Sunderland player blasted his shot over the crossbar. He worked hard to help in attack but never found the right ball.
Per Mertesacker – 7/10
Cultured and solid at the back, the big man made it difficult for the likes of Borini and Fletcher to get past him. He never looked nervous coming up against Fletcher’s physicality and footwork on most occasions.
Laurent Koscielny – 6/10
Although Koscielny had suffered an injury last weekend against Norwich, he came back into the team and put in yet another aggressive and assured performance at the back. He made a few crucial headed clearances out of the box and, together with Mertesacker, kept the Sunderland attack in check.
Nacho Monreal – 7/10
He made some good marauding runs down the left wing but was not rewarded as his crossing was not up to the mark. However, the Spanish left-back was very good defensively. He did make up for Koscielny’s lapses in the second half.
Mathieu Flamini – 7/10
The experienced Arsenal man showed better tempo on the ball in the first half and played a wider sort of role in the second half as Wenger made changes. He was up against a disciplined midfield and did well to deny Toivonen and M’Vila space to channel their attack from the middle.
Aaron Ramsey – 8/10
The Welshman worked hard throughout the game and controlled the midfield alongside Flamini. He controlled the tempo of the game very well and always looked to play quick forward passes. He grabbed an assist for Giroud’s goal and then scored one himself in second half added time. Ramsey’s work rate meant that Sunderland’s midfielders could not pose a threat.
Mesut Ozil – 8/10
Ozil has been the best player at Arsenal this season and he showed exactly why. He was precise in his passing, finding his teammates with delicate touches. He played well for the most part and created the first goal of the game when he released Joel Campbell on the left side, who produced a cool finish into the Sunderland goal. Ozil looked like the player who could make the difference in the game and Wenger played him for the full 90 minutes.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6/10
The player returned from injury to make his first start and he seemed out of match practice. But short bursts of pace were enough to get him a tag of a fair performance. He was taken off near the hour mark as Wenger wanted to save him for the midweek tie against Olympiakos.
Joel Campbell – 8/10
Campbell showed why he can be a regular at the club. His decisive run and then a crisp finish gave Arsenal the lead in the game and the Costa Rican was in good form, linking up well with Ozil and Ramsey. His second goal for the Gunners will give him confidence to shine further.
Olivier Giroud – 7/10
Giroud was a frustrated figure for most of the first half. He was unfortunate to score the own goal near the half-time break. But he did not disappoint as he scored from a header from an Aaron Ramsey cross. He was marked well by the three central defenders of Sunderland.
Substitutes
Kieran Gibbs – 6/10
Gibbs came on for Joel Campbell with about 15 minutes to go. He was calm and composed, assured Arsenal of the win and was good going forward.
Theo Walcott – 6/10
He had little time on the pitch and was sharp and speedy. But he could not utilize the opportunities presented to him although he played a hand in Ramsey’s goal by holding up the ball in the box. A bit of game time did not cause him any trouble.
Calum Chambers – 6/10
He came on late in place of Olivier Giroud. He was seen playing on the right wing and also added cover for Bellerin.
Sunderland
Costel Pantilimon – 6/10
His kicking was good throughout the game and he could have done little to stop the first two goals. But the last goal from Aaron Ramsey could have been stopped as he got his hand to it.
Younes Kaboul – 7/10
He had a dodgy couple of minutes in the second half when he could not mark Giroud properly when the Frenchman scored with a header. Overall, he did well to keep Arsenal’s attackers quiet and he also provided great crosses late in the second half.
John O’Shea – 7/10
He was seen providing a calming presence when on the ball and used his veteran head to organize Sunderland’s defensive positioning as well as offside traps. However, he could not stop any of the three goals.
Sebastian Coates – 7/10
He played well alongside Kaboul and O’Shea and was instrumental in stopping Ozil and company from scoring in the whole game as he made several interceptions. It was great positional play from the former Liverpool player at the centre-back position as he took command at the back and stopped Arsenal from getting into the final third, but it was not enough.
Deandre Yedlin – 6/10
He was poor in positioning when he let Campbell get away from him for the first goal. He got better as the game went on. Started the game slowly but contributed in Sunderland’s attacks as well. He was seen making a goal line clearance from Giroud’s header. He just lacked that perfect crossing needed to find goals.
Patrick van Aanholt – 7/10
He was the one player who stood firm throughout the game. He made some runs down the right wing for the visitors, but his crosses were not met by his teammates in good areas. He missed a golden opportunity late in the second half when Hector Bellerin lost him in the box but he shot over the bar.
Yann M’Vila – 7/10
M’Vila played in patches and formed a very stagnant and limited Sunderland midfield with Toivonen that failed to register its dominance on the pitch, often getting overrun by their opposite numbers. He did create the goal with his free-kick which was helped into the net by Olivier Giroud.
Ola Toivonen – 7/10
Toivonen started the game on the slow and low but made some outstanding challenges in the middle of the pitch. He was vigilantly positioned in front of his defence to stop Arsenal from scoring and blocked potential passes meant for the feet of Giroud and Campbell.
Duncan Watmore – 7/10
Watmore won his side the free-kick which eventually led to the Giroud own goal. He was one of the bright performers for the away side but was merely a pedestrian on the pitch at times, though. Quite possibly Sunderland’s rising star but he could have created more and pressed his opponents to regain possession.
Fabio Borini – 5/10
He was the worst performer for the Black Cats on the pitch as he missed two glorious opportunities to score in the first half and was taken off and replaced by Adam Johnson late in the second half. He rarely saw possession in an attacking capacity but was a threat when he did manage to get on the ball. He made some quick runs and showed quick feet which did not trouble Koscielny much.
Steven Fletcher – 6/10
He played well and held up the ball for the visitors. He did come close to scoring for the Black Cats from a corner in the second half, but Petr Cech was present to collect the ball. He showed glimpses of what he is capable of. His immaculate pace and strength was on display against Mertesacker but, unfortunately, he could not produce anything worthy in attack.
Substitutes
Jermain Lens – 6/10
He came on and got into the game, marauded forward and sent some good crosses into the Arsenal box in the second half.
Adam Johnson – 5/10
Johnson came on for Borini, but he did not produce much and could not do anything to turn the game around.
Jack Rodwell – N/A
He did not see much of the ball after coming on but made some attacking runs.
