Tenacious Alexis Ground Out Arsenal Win

Match Review: Sunderland 0 Arsenal 2 - Premier League - 25.10.14

Arsenal just aren’t in good form at the moment. Every game is a struggle and at the Stadium of Light, we were a little fortunate to come away with a victory. Having said that, there was a noticeable improvement in the performance and whilst the goal came from Sunderland mistakes, the overall showing from the team was a lot more positive than on Wednesday night.

Arsene Wenger’s selection raised a few eyebrows, with Arteta and Flamini both starting in midfield. The back four also stayed the same despite a shaky showing against an average Anderlecht side. Cazorla, Alexis, Chamberlain and Welbeck all started too, although we lined up in a slightly unexpected way. Welbeck was the central striker, but Alexis was given a central role behind Welbeck, in the sort of free role that Özil has craved this season. With Cazorla also drifting inside, it was almost as if we were playing a back three and a half, as Gibbs pushed up as per usual.

We controlled the majority of the first half in terms of possession and Alexis’ presence in the centre really seemed to help our play, as he took responsibility as the main creative player for us. There seemed to be a little more zip in the passing and although we were still struggling to create any clear cut chances, our link up play seemed a lot tidier and more precise. Danny Welbeck curled a shot inches over the bar, while a number of through balls were cut out at the last moment by the Sunderland defence. However, just as the home team looked to be taking the sting out of our attack, they shot themselves in the foot in calamitous fashion.

The goal came from Mertesacker lumping the ball forward after a Sunderland attack broke down. Wes Brown seemed in complete control until he turned and tried to play the ball back to Mannone. The former United man scuffed the ball horribly and Alexis pounced, leaving the veteran defender for dead and clipping the ball over a helpless Mannone. Alexis’ energy and endeavour forced the mistake and he took the opportunity with aplomb. The goal seemed to spur us on and we pinned Sunderland back for the rest of the half. Unfortunately, we couldn’t take advantage of Sunderland’s weakness and it remained just 1-0.

The second half was a pretty turgid affair as Arsenal pressed forward less and less, choosing to protect the lead more as the game wore on. The balance shifted more towards Sunderland attacking, albeit it in a limited way, with Arsenal a threat on the counter. We suffered a blow though, as Kieran Gibbs limped off yet again with an injury and was replaced by Bellerin. Chambers shifted across to centre back and Monreal to left back, while Sunderland threw on Altidore and Gomez in a bid to find an equaliser. The home team didn’t cause too many problems with their forays forward, whilst we had a plethora of chances to finish the game on the break. Frustratingly, we seemed incapable of making the right decision or we fluffed the finish. But as the game moved into injury time, Sunderland made sure of their defeat with another bit of Sunday league football.

One of the many Arsenal breakaways ended up with Alexis trying to reverse a pass to Danny Welbeck in the area, but it was cut out by Buckley. Buckley then decided to play a suicidal back pass to Mannone in his six yard box. Alexis was instantly at the former Arsenal keeper and the Italian made a horrible mess of things, attempting to poke the ball to his centre back, but only knocking to the Arsenal man. Alexis calmly took possession and clipped the ball into the net.

The manner of his ‘celebration’ suggested he was a little embarrassed to be scoring in such a way and that the result had come through two Sunderland errors. He was the best player on the pitch by a country mile and it must be frustrating for him with the rest of the team so below par. But with so many injuries and uncertainty over what our best formation is, we’re probably going to have to grind a few more results before things fall into place. It seems to me that we don’t quite know quite what type of football we want to play and Wenger’s tinkering with setups suggests that he is also a little uncertain how best to set things up. But it is important to note that this was an improved performance for us and more importantly, it was a win. At the end of the day, I’m happy to wait for the performances to come, just so long as we grind out the three points.

Teams

Sunderland (4-5-1)
Mannone, Vergini, O’Shea, Brown, van Aanholt, Cattermole (Y), Rodwell (Gomez 74’), Larsson (Y), Buckley, Johnson (Altidore 74’), Fletcher (Wickham 50’ (Y))
Subs
Pantilimon, Bridcutt, Wickham, Gomez, Reveillere, Altidore, Mavrias

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Szczesny, Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs (Y) (Bellerin 74’), Arteta (Y) (Ramsey 88), Flamini, Chamberlain (Rosicky 90’), Alexis, Cazorla, Welbeck (Y)
Subs
Martinez, Bellerin, Podolski, Rosicky, Ramsey, Campbell, Walcott

Player Ratings

Szczesny - 6/10 - Largely solid, but had one moment of madness that was nearly punished
Chambers - 7/10 - A good performance in two positions after a few struggles recently
Mertesacker - 7/10 - Back to his solid self after a bit of a nightmare midweek
Monreal -7/10 - Gave a really solid showing at centre back and left back
Gibbs - 7/10 - Got forward well, but injuries are becoming a huge problem
Arteta - 7/10 - A calming metronomic presence at the heart of the midfield
Flamini - 7/10 - Bounced back from a poor showing midweek and made some huge tackles
Chamberlain - 6/10 - Slightly frustrating as he’s just on the edge of playing brilliantly
Alexis - 9/10 - Head and shoulders above the rest, he’s flying at the moment
Cazorla - 6/10 - Tidy play but good grief he needs to work on his shooting
Welbeck - 6/10 - A peripheral performance, but I’m sure the goals will come
Subs
Bellerin - 7/10 - Had a nervy start, but steadied himself to put in a solid showing
Ramsey - N/A
Rosicky - N/A

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