Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to 9 points (for 24 hours at least) with a largely impressive 3-0 at home to Sunderland. Arsenal dropped points in the reverse fixture earlier in the season and despite a fairly even first half, once Arsenal got in front, they were good value for the win.
Martin Zubimendi opened the scoring in the first half with a lovely low strike from the egde of the box, which went in of the post, before Viktor Gyokeres emerged from the bench to seal the win with two ‘strikers’ goals’ in the last 25 minutes. Here’s how the players rated:
David Raya – 6
Made a few smart stops across the game without even being truly stretched. A rare lapse in judgement almost let Sunderland in when he came racing out of his goal only to make a mess of his clearence. Thankfully that went unpunished as Raya added his third clean sheet in 7 days!
Jurrien Timber – 7
Still not quite as his early season flowing best going forward, but defensively as solid as ever. Looked better when Martinelli came on.
William Saliba – 7
Struggled with Bryan Brobbey on occasion and had to walk a discplinary tightrope after picking up a booking in the first half. Dealt with the added pressure well and he more or less had it his own way in the second half.
Gabriel – 7
Stood up tall against Sunderland’s set pieces, with Gabriel’s head meeting the majority. Largely unruffled and passed the ball well enough. A fairly standard performance from the big Brazilian. Seems a while since we’ve seen him really threaten from set pieces though.
Riccardo Calafiori – 5
Struggled on his first Premier League start since his return from injury. Lost the ball a couple of times in uncharacteristic fashion in the first half as he displayed understandable rustiness. Was withdrawn with 20 minutes to play.
Martin Zubimendi – 7
Fantastic goal to open the scoring and bossed the game alongside Declan Rice. Always available for the pass and broke the lines well with his clever passing and movement. Battled well as always and was just generally very assured. Can’t underestimate the importance of that first goal and that’s the second time in a week that the Spaniard has broken the deadlock.
Declan Rice – 7
Imperious in this new deeper role. Shut down space effortlessly at times and Sunderland just couldn’t get past him in that second half. Nearly scored one of the goals of the season in the first half, only to see his angled shot whistle past the post.
Kai Havertz – 8
Played like more of an old school number 10 this afternoon and took up so many dangerous positions and caused Sunderland all kinds of problems with his clever movement. Such a key player for us when he plays like this and he deservedly helped himself to an assist with his pullback to Gyokeres for Arsenal’s 2nd.
Gabriel Jesus – 6
Didn’t quite come off for him today. Thought he’d won Arsenal a penalty, only to be flagged offside. Some nice moments, touches here and there, but in truth he never really impacted the game and it was no real surprise to see him subbed with 20-25 minutes to play,
Leandro Trossard – 8 PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Set up the first goal and was the one player throughout the game who was always looking to make something happen in the final third. Whether with a clever run, probing pass or shot from distance, he was knocking on the door all afternoon. Hopefully his withdrawal was more precautionary than anything else.
Subs:
Viktor Gyokeres – 8 – All of a sudden he’s starting to look the part! In front of goal at least. Took his goals well and ran the channels tirelessly during his time on the pitch. Gyokeres’ link-up play with his teammates is getting better with every game and he really seemed to enjoy playing with Kai Havertz. His goals never look particularly pretty, but I really don’t care!!
Gabriel Martinelli – 7 – Another really strong showing from the bench on the right hand side of our attack. Full of running as always and streaked through the Sunderland defence to lay the ball on a plate for Gyokeres to add our 3rd. Proving to be an excellent impact player.
Eberechi Eze – 7 – His best performance in an Arsenal shirt since the North London Derby, even if it was relatively fleeting. Looked dangerous every time he was on the ball and had a few efforts on goal that troubled Sunderland. Lovely late run and pass that Martinelli should have done better with.
Piero Hincapie –6 – Came on and locked down the Sunderland right hand side instantly. Such a strong defender in those 1v1 situations.
Christian Norgaard – 6 – Not on long enough to rate but nice to see him make an appearance. His clearance set Martinelli through on goal in the build-up to the 3rd.
Final note – So refreshing to see Arsenal win a trick game in relatively comfortable fashion. This was not an easy game and although it was tight in the first half, the result will send a message to the chasing pack that we mean business this year. A few more weeks like this and we’ll be in great shape.