Robin van Persie rescued Arsenal from another disappointing
Premier League result with a fantastic winner in a 2-1
success against Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium.
The Holland striker, who used his programme notes to
declare his full commitment to Arsenal, put the hosts
ahead after just 29 seconds but the sides went in level
at half-time thanks to an excellent free-kick from former
Gunner Sebastian Larsson.
The game appeared destined for a draw as Arsenal proceeded
to squander several good second-half chances, but Van
Persie saved the Londoners' blushes with a wonderful
curling free-kick nine minutes from time.
The win gave Arsenal the perfect tonic after their
north London derby defeat two weeks ago, but the creaky
manner in which they snuck past struggling Sunderland
will do little to silence the doubters who claim the
Gunners are a spent force.
Under-pressure Black Cats boss Steve Bruce, meanwhile,
will rue his side's failure to convert a number of first-half
opportunities and they now sit outside the drop zone
only on goal difference.
Keen to make up for their loss at White Hart Lane,
Arsenal flew out of the blocks and took an early lead.
Some Arsenal fans had still not taken their seats by
the time that Gervinho got on the end of Tomas Rosicky's
lobbed pass and squared to Van Persie, who took one
touch before drilling low past Simon Mignolet from 18
yards to record the fastest top-flight goal of the season
so far.
The strike stunned the Black Cats and they remained
on the back foot for the rest of the opening half hour.
This was the Arsenal of old. Confident in possession
and sturdy at the back, they pushed for a second as
the away side struggled to get a touch on the ball.
Van Persie was then denied an early contender for goal
of the season by the woodwork.
With 13 minutes on the clock, the Dutchman spun his
marker on the edge of the box and clipped a delightful
chip that sailed over Mignolet but bounced out off the
post and Gervinho just missed out on the tap-in.
Full of confidence, Van Persie than flashed a powerful
20-yard drive just wide.
Gervinho was also in his pomp. The Ivory Coast man
cut inside from the left flank with a clever turn and
crashed a fierce shot just over.
Wojciech Szczesny then went walkabout, handing Sessegnon
a glorious chance to equalise, but the winger's cross
was cut out by Alex Song as the Arsenal goal lay unguarded.
Arsenal's confidence was knocked and Sunderland shocked
the home crowd with a stunning equaliser from Larsson.
Mikel Arteta's handball gave the Black Cats a free-kick
20 yards out and Larsson whipped a delightful curling
shot over the wall and past a sprawling Szczesny to
make it 1-1.
The strike was so good that Rosicky had already started
walking to the halfway line without turning his back
to see if the shot had gone in.
Szczesny denied Sunderland the lead moments later when
he blocked Lee Cattermole's header from six yards after
an error from Carl Jenkinson allowed Sessegnon to break
down the left.
The game became scrappy at the start of the second
half.
David Vaughan earned the first booking of the game
with a cynical two-footed sliding tackle on Rosicky
and he was soon followed in to the book by Larsson,
who tugged Van Persie's shirt.
Tensions mounted as Alex Song was booked for a foul
on Sessegnon and then John O'Shea upended Rosicky on
the edge of the box, giving Arsenal a dangerous free-kick
which Arteta duly ploughed in to the stands.
Brown was lucky to escape with a booking after clattering
into Walcott in a similar position minutes later. The
England winger picked himself up to take the free-kick
but the home fans groaned collectively as, again, the
set-piece flew well over.
Howard Webb produced his fifth yellow card of the game
after Laurent Koscielny body-checked Sessegnon before
Mignolet kept Van Persie's near-post effort out with
his feet as Arsenal increased the pressure on the visitors.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger looked despondent on the
bench as Alex Song then broke into the box and inexplicably
passed to a Sunderland defender with time running out.
A moment of brilliance from substitute Andrey Arshavin
almost gave Arsenal the lead with just under 20 minutes
left.
The Russian danced past two Sunderland defenders into
the box and nutmegged Michael Turner with a shot that
went a yard wide of Mignolet's goal.
Brown's clumsy challenge on Van Persie gave Arsenal
another free-kick on the edge of the box with nine minutes
left. The Holland international succeeded where his
team-mates had failed before him by curling a brilliant
set-piece into the top corner and then removing his
shirt in a jubilant celebration.
Ji Dong-won was then played in to the box by Connor
Wickham and slotted past Szczesny but his effort was
rightly ruled out for offside.
Sunderland pushed for a second equaliser towards the
end, but it never came and Wenger's side took the spoils
after another nervy afternoon.
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