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Photo from Freepik
Morning all.
The vibes which came out of Mikel Arteta’s pre-match press conference prior to yesterday’s key match at The Stadium of Light gave us the surprising impression that maybe one, even more of our many injured and missed forward players might actually return to supplement the hard working Mikel Merino in our attack which of course was very welcome news. Merino had done a sterling job in midweek in Prague scoring two excellent goals but we wanted to see a Gyokeres or a Martinelli or even more exotically, a Gabriel Jesus.
Arteta was of course stringing us along, not deliberately but if the journalists, and by extension us the fans wanted to believe it then he wasn’t about to correct us and so he named his starting XI with Merino up top supported by Saka and Trossard. On the bench were no surprises just four Hale End lads and a lot of defenders, so we will be waiting until after the international break for reinforcements after all.
Sunderland have generated a febrile atmosphere at their home stadium since they returned to the Premier League and a Tony Pulis approach to opponents who want to play football but this isn’t an Arsene Wenger team, this Arteta team doesn’t fold.
The opening exchanges were tough, really tough with old Arsenal boy Daniel Ballard planting his elbow into the face of Mikel Merino in those opening moments leaving our sole forward needing treatment for several minutes. The referee Craig Pawson was as lenient as lenient could possibly be with the Sunderland players who escaped several yellow card level fouls on Arsenal players. It was almost as if someone from up on high in the upper echelons of football governance and possibly the media had whispered in his ear about not letting Arsenal open up an 8 point gap in the Premier League as that would be bad for the product and the product is sacrosanct.
Conspiracy? Surely not! After around 16 minutes Declan Rice tested the Black Cats/Cloggers keeper from a free kick and gradually Arsenal began to gain some semblance of control. On 23 minutes Eze found himself on the edge of the box as a misplaced pass left him an opening, unfortunately he hit his shot wastefully high and wide whereas Nwaneri would probably have buried it. Shortly afterwards another elbow left Jurien Timber needing a bandage around his head but Pawson looked the other way.
Immediately afterwards Pawson finally showed a yellow card, but to Martin Zubimendi after he had got a touch to the ball before the man but still was penalised. You know the exact opposite to Gyokeres who was fouled in the box by the Newcastle goalkeeper a few weeks ago and a few miles away. It never ends does it?
From the free kick the ball was pumped into the Arsenal box knocked onto Daniel Ballard who muscled his way past Declan Rice and blasted his shot past David Raya. Arsenal had finally conceded and the media duly celebrated. Just prior to half time Saka got up to a cross, headed the ball down to William Saliba who should have scored but he blasted his shot wildly over the bar. H/T 1-0
Arteta got into his players at half-time as they came out flying and laid siege to the Sunderland goal for a good 20 minutes. On 52 Zubimendi put Saka in on goal but he fired wide – he should have scored. Two minutes later constant pressure paid off when Rice dispossessed a Sunderland player and passed to Saka. He in turn passed to Merino who returned it and Bakayo fired low and hard inside the near post to equalise. The Gunners were on it now and two minutes after Timber almost got in on goal, on 58, Trossard put Zubimendi in and he fired narrowly wide – he should have scored. On 61 Eze found some space and got off a good shot but it was saved and on 65 lucky Sunderland saw a powerful drive from Zubimendi come back off of the bar, was it going to be one of those days?
Arsenal continued to probe and in between Raya made a great double save as Sunderland still continued to carry a threat and they were also throwing on fresh legs – Arsenal did not! But on 74 minutes the impressive Leo Trossard worked some magic turning his opponent inside out until a gap appeared and he powered an unstoppable drive into the roof of the net. That should have been the 3 points safe although I wanted the insurance of a 3rd goal.
Raya made another big save as the game approached added time, Eze departed for Mosquera on 88 and I thought that makes sense, shut up shop. But with no Eze leading the press Sunderland pushed forward and a tired Arsenal dropped off which allowed the Black Cats to ramp up the long throws and long crosses into the Arsenal box and from one of those they equalised. It was gutting as we should have been home and hosed by then.
There was still time for one last scramble on the Sunderland goal line, a cross into their box saw Calafiori rising like Haaland to head home, but he isn’t a Haaland and the keeper saved. Ballard blocked the follow up from Merino and so our run of clean sheets and wins came to an end. We should have won but it wasn’t our day.
Bruised and battered, we march on….
**By Kev.**