Sunderland vs Arsenal: Five talking points

Arsenal managed to keep themselves in the thick of the battle for Champions League qualification with a hard earned win over Sunderland, in spite of having Carl Jenkinson sent off at the hour mark. It was a game where the goalkeepers were well and truly on top, meaning that Santi Cazorla’s lone goal would suffice for the visitors to leave with all three points. There were a fair number of things to talk about in this entertaining fixture, and here are five of the best.

The Cazorla goal

This was a typical Arsenal goal, involving some excellent inter-play, delicate touches, and a cool finish at the end. It would have taken nothing lesser to beat Simon Mignolet either, given the form he was in. Much credit is due to Jack Wilshere though, as it was his run from midfield which took the ball past two Sunderland players, and created the opportunity for the goal. Credit is also due in small portion to Theo Walcott who, when given the ball by Wilshere, chose not to shoot as would be normally expected of him, but passed it along to Cazorla, who was in a better position. It was a cool finish from the Spaniard which topped the move off, as the ball rolled into the net through a crowd of players, and under Mignolet’s outstretched body.

The Jenkinson sending off

When, as a defender, you get booked as early as in the 9th minute of the game, you are not only putting yourself at risk of getting sent off, but are also weakening your team’s defensive strength, given that you can’t dive into that last ditch tackle any more for the rest of the game. When that booking comes for a silly foul where the opposing attacker is going nowhere, and your team’s under no real threat, it seems even more unnecessary. When you are then faced with a tricky situation with half an hour yet to go in the match, and dive into another hopeless tackle, thereby earning yourself an inevitable second booking, and a sending off, you don’t have anyone left to blame but yourself. This was what happened with Jenkinson, and he’ll consider himself lucky that his team managed to hang on for a win.

Sessegnon beats Monreal all ends up

Stephane Sessegnon is unquestionably one of the most underrated creative midfielders in the league currently. The ease with which he beat Nacho Monreal, and then Jenkinson, was something one would expect of someone playing for one of the absolute top sides in Europe. Yet, the man from Benin continues to work relentlessly, and trick his way past defenders with consummate ease for the Black Cats, who might not be able to hold on to him for too long. Plenty of free kicks were conceded by Arsenal against him, and Jenkinson’s sending off also came for a foul on him; but Sessegnon will consider it all in vain as his side failed to capitalise on the opportunities.

Simon Mignolet; will he stay or go away?

The other shining beacon for Sunderland, apart from Sessegnon, was Mignolet, who pulled off some brilliant saves, and 7 in total against an Arsenal side which seemed to emerge from midfield at will. With the second highest number of clean sheets in the league thus far, after Joe Hart, Mignolet would no doubt have attracted the attention of clubs looking for a quality man in between the sticks. With the possibility of higher wages, and better defenders in front of him on offer, Mignolet’s future with a club rolling in mid-table mediocrity seems very much in question.

The injury to Wilshere

Around five minutes into the second half, Jack Wilshere was caught by a poor N’Diaye tackle which put an end to his participation in the game, having played the full ninety minutes for England, against Brazil, in midweek. It was an incident which led to criticism of Sunderland’s tackling from Arsene Wenger in the post game conference, and something that would have been of extreme concern for the Gunners, given his formidable form since his return from injury. Thankfully though, it has emerged that he will only miss training for a few days as fallout from the tackle, and should be back in action soon, towards the business end of the season.