Sunderland may have hoped to overcome last week's humiliating 8-0 defeat at Southampton by playing host to Arsenal, a side that could barely manage a draw to Hull last time out. Instead, it was clear from the start that the Black Cats are still very much a team in desperate need of help -- or, failing that, a little luck.
Sunderland vs. Arsenal, final score 2-0: Alexis Sánchez at the double
More individual errors from Sunderland gifted the Gunners with all three points.
Vito Mannone, who rather gave up on goalkeeping after about the fourth goal last week, nearly put Sunderland in trouble once more early on. He fumbled a low cross from Calum Chambers, spilling the ball back into the Arsenal path, but fortunately he had John O'Shea nearby to clear the damage.
Shortly after, Danny Welbeck nearly opened the scoring for the Gunners, but his shot went just over the bar. Arsenal, as is their wont, were giving an excellent demonstration of pinpoint perfect passing, but couldn't quite click in front of goal.
That held until Alexis Sánchez decided to do all the work himself. He put Wes Brown under pressure, prompting the 35-year-old to give up the ball. Alexis pounced, resulting in a one-on-one with Mannone. The goalkeeper wound up on his behind, while Alexis chipped the ball over his head.
Gus Poyet changed things up after the break, bringing off Steven Fletcher for Connor Wickham. While Sunderland looked slightly more threatening going forward, they were still unable to really test Wojciech Szczesny. So with fifteen minutes remaining, Poyet took advantage of an injury to Kieran Gibbs to make a double switch, Jordi Gómez for Jack Rodwell and Jozy Altidore for Adam Johnson, changing the formation to a 4-3-3.
But nothing was working for the hosts. When Gomez attempted to set up Altidore, the forward was unable to decide if he wanted to send in a shot or a cross -- which obviously led to nothing. Patrick van Aanholt took matters into his own hands, going way wide from distance. At least that last attempt provided a rare moment of interest, what with Szczesny’s wild headed clearance giving the ball directly to the Dutchman.
That was nothing, however, compared to Mannone’s final blooper. He lost control of a rather heavy backpass, but there was no real excuse for his fumbling the ball straight to Alexis’s feet. Mannone then crept along the ground, clawing in a futile attempt to keep out the Chilean’s second tally.
Sunderland: Mannone, Vergini, van Aanholt, O'Shea, Brown, Cattermole, Larsson, Rodwell (Gomez 74), Buckley, Johnson (Altidore 74), Fletcher (Wickham 50)
Goals: none.
Arsenal: Szczesny, Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs (Bellerin 74) , Arteta (Ramsey 88), Flamini, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Rosicky 90), Cazorla, Alexis, Welbeck
Goals: Alexis 30’, 90’
See More:
