Arsene Wenger masterminded his Arsenal side to a 4-1 victory over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
Arsenal attackers Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud both recorded impressive braces as the Gunners put up an attacking showcase of the highest order. Despite having a number of players missing through injury and suspension, Arsenal rarely looked in a spot of bother as they dispatched bottom-most Sunderland with ease.
Take a look at The Hard Tackle’s talking points:
Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain puts in an incredible shift
Prior to kick-off, Arsenal were fretting over the injury of Theo Walcott. After being the focal point of added scrutiny for the last few seasons, the English winger shut his critics with a blistering start to the 2016/17 campaign.
Unfortunately, failure of a late fitness test saw Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain replace him. And boy, didn’t he step up to the party!
The 22-year-old proved to be a constant threat down Arsenal’s right flank and gave the Sunderland left-back Patrick van Aanholt little room for error. Chamberlain was constantly on the toes of the Black Cats’ defenders and was always looking to make something happen for his side.
After 30 minutes of breathtaking football, Chamberlain finally managed to register himself an assist when his well-timed struck saw Alexis Sanchez head the ball home to open the scoring for the Gunners.
That didn’t seem to stop Chamberlain as he kept surging forward and linking up with the midfielders. He was arguably Arsenal’s best player of the first half and also gave Wenger a phenomenal makeshift option
Sunderland’s high line did not cause Arsenal a pinch of a bother
David Moyes took charge of Sunderland in the summer, but things have not gone as per plan for the former Manchester United manager. Going into Saturday’s game against Arsenal, his side managed to pick up just two points from a possible 27, and found themselves as the only team in England’s top seven divisions yet to pick up a victory this season.
While he may not have had the best of luck in recent years, Moyes is a tactically astute manager and decided to deploy a high-pressing strategy against Arsenal.
The Scottish manager ordered his defenders to maintain a high line to combat Arsenal’s intricate one-touch passing displays. He asked his midfielders to press deep into the Gunners territory, but unfortunately it backfired.
Arsenal were unfazed by Moyes’ tactics and continued to retain possession of the football. They often caught the Sunderland defenders off guard as a number of long balls were horribly dealt with by the hosts. Players like Francis Coquelin and Mesut Ozil found themselves in one-on-one situations, but couldn’t impact the scoreline.
Olivier Giroud scores twice with his first two touches
Chilean attacker Alexis Sanchez has been used as a first-choice number nine this season and has performed beyond expectations. The former Barcelona man has found the back of the net on six different occasions and has provided three assists.
With Olivier Giroud back to full fitness, Wenger opted to play his potent strike option, despite Sanchez being on a three-game scoreless run. The gamble paid off as the Chilean registered a brace, but Giroud’s impact off the bench proved to be bigger talking point.
The French striker found the back of the net twice and coincidentally it was with his first two touches in the game. His first goal came in the 71st minute after he lashed home a cross played by Aaron Ramsey. He scored his second three minutes later, and won over the Arsenal faithful that have been giving him a lot of slack since his 15-game barren patch last season.
Elneny, Gibbs highlight Arsenal’s strength in depth
Arsene Wenger saw a number of his players succumb to injuries before kick-off. While it would have been a mini-crisis situation for any other manager, it seemed Arsenal’s deputy players performed the role of the regular first-team to absolute perfection.
Kieran Gibbs came in at left-back in place of the injured Nacho Monreal and did a great deal in nullifying the Sunderland threat from their right flank. Gibbs also put in an incredible shift offensively and whipped in a number of telling crosses into the stride of Ozil and Sanchez.
Mohamed Elneny too, came in place of Santi Cazorla and looked at home in the middle of the park. He proved to be more than an able partner to Francis Coquelin, and together the duo looked solid.
Moyes’ misery continues as Sunderland continue to falter
The Scot was appointed as Black Cats manager just ten days prior to the closure of the summer window, and he had very little time to bring in the players he would have liked. Instead, he inherited a side that narrowly avoided the clutches of relegation last term, and by the looks of things, he has failed to turn around fortunes at the Stadium of Light.
Adding to his woes are injuries to Lee Catermole, Sebastian Larsson and Fabio Borini. With three key first-team players on the sidelines, Moyes has had to improvise with a number of second-string players at his disposal, and it hasn’t quite worked in his favour.
The Sunderland board may give Moyes another window to turn things around or they might not be so benign and could decide to part ways with him within the next few weeks if the results don’t go their way.
