I remember my Sunderland review last season. I told you the story of my visit to Roker Park. My many visits. My many unplanned and increasingly frustrating visits as we attempted to escape from Sunderland en route to Cullercoats. In passing I might mention that Cullercoats is a pleasant little seaside town between Tynemouth and Whitley Bay, but that needn’t concern any of us today. The simple fact is that as I allowed my pre match thoughts to wend their way down a nostalgic B road I entirely failed to predict the events that would unfold, and surely bloggers should be able to tell you mere mortals the precise ways of the future. Shouldn’t we?
The game was a real dig in and fight for it affair on a horrible bumpy pitch. We played in yellow with nasty red brown shorts and won the three points with a lovely crafted goal finished with aplomb by Santi Cazorla. Only heroics from Mignolet, the Sunderland post and Wojciech Szczęsny kept the score to one nil but the story of the match hinged on a few defensive performances and one truly dreadful refereeing display.
Cattermole wasn’t even booked when he could so easily have broken Aaron Ramsay’s legs with a really ghastly challenge while young Carl Jenkinson was sent off for two miss timed tackles. Throughout the game that man Anthony Taylor allowed appalling violent play to pass entirely unpunished and it remains a bewildering mystery that Arsenal had to see out a tense final half an hour with ten men whilst a thuggish Sunderland side who would have received red cards on a rugby pitch for some of their assaults on our players completed the match with eleven. Jack Wilshere was literally kicked off the pitch, Fletcher nearly equalized after controlling with a blatant handball and we had to play in a cauldron of vociferous partisan support with a resilience and courage for which we are (unjustly) not renowned.
However, despite all of this drama, the performance which stands out in my mind was that of Bacary Sagna. Drafted into the centre following a late withdrawal by Lauren Koscielny our uber versatile defensive maestro was an absolute rock. I know Arsène had used Bacary in the centre before and as a left fullback during one of our most horrendous injury crises but never has the man’s versatility shone as it did that day. It was an often brutal affair with a lot of old fashioned high balls and crunching aerial collisions but Bacary Baresi was equal to all of them. I don’t want to give the impression that his performance was all about strength and resisting the hooliganism of the opposition though. It was the coolness with which he managed to direct his defensive headers to team mates that impressed me. It’s one thing to go up and stick yer nut on it and quite another thing entirely to turn that head butt into a weighted pass to a midfielder. Instigating a quick counter attack from a ball that comes down with ice on it is no easy skill. Not that he was averse to launching a forty yarder onto Olivier’s head when the occasion called for it, but mostly he won the ball and played a quick imperious pass to a team mate and resumed his station alongside the BFG. He was resolute, tidy, athletic, decisive and perfectly placed throughout the match.
Judging by his remarks this week we might get to see more of him alongside Lauren or Per in the future. In an honest appraisal of his own advancing years he accepted that the modern fullback needs to put in a shift to which he himself might not be equal in the coming seasons. More than speed and agility though it was mental strength that he identified as his key attribute. I think it’s all too easy for us to overlook the psychological fortitude of our squad sometimes. Easy because we are so often dazzled by their quick feet and lightning fast movement. Sunderland away last year showed the importance of the mental strength Bacary talked about. He is a player who has had to pick himself up after some awful injuries and a couple of costly errors in high profile games but he’s done it with a quiet determination, a deafness to the pathetic knee jerk reactions of the worst of our supporters and I believe will be a key member of a squad for many years to come.
If news of Per Mertesacker’s upset tummy are true it looks like Bac will have a chance to reprise his masterful performance of last winter. How the new Sunderland will shape up is more of a mystery though. As with our previous opponents from Middlesex the Black Cats have made a whole raft of new signings recently. I think it’s fourteen but I could be out by half a dozen or so. Like Arsène Wenger I believe a settled squad with personnel who are completely at ease with each other’s style of play is far more important that wholesale changes. One or two key signings joining a team on a roll ought to trump a bunch of strangers still trying to learn one another’s names. Of course this is sport not maths and as Anthony Taylor proved when playing for Aston Villa and very nearly managed in this fixture last time around, sport can be an unpredictable and ruthless duchess. The one factor Sunderland will have on their side today whatever the form and regardless of the line ups is the home support. The old cliché about the twelfth man is nowhere more certain to have an effect than in the Stadium of Light. They took the Roker Roar with them when they moved house and will howl at every perceived injustice, hound the officials and lift the home side for every second of the game and quite right too. A little more of that at the Emirates and who knows where our home form might take us.
I am a hopeless blogger when it comes to predicting the future, and I apologise for this lack of superhuman talent. All I can say is this is the classic post international situation for us: a tough trip up North. I see no reason not to be optimistic but I know that we will need all the courage and fighting spirit with which our makeshift centre back held us together last time around. Whatever happens I just hope we don’t wear those bloody awful shorts again.
Positively Arsenal 
If you count Flamini, four.
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Ha ha. Total football FG, total football.
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Oh bollocks. We don’t want to see that. Giroud down. With Big Nic Bendtner still four or five stone above his fighting weight as well.
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Aaargh
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ooh, Akpom on?
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That it?
Phew. 3-1 sounds about right. Can’t wait to see that Ramsey volley. Please let OG be ok
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Right I’m off to celebrate by making some vegan mayonnaise. Now where’s that Tofu?
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Now look at that table!
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“Özil must be thinking “Why the fuck have I not heard of Aaron Ramsay before?” Hahahaha! I cannot stop smiling. What a star Aaron is. No one deserves this more than he does.
Oh, and Ozil. That is all. (please be Ok Ollie…)
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Anybody on here with knowledge of sports injuries? Looked like Ollie’s knee. And that can be bad. If it is, we could do the Spanish thing of playing without a designated striker. Or have Theo up front. What with Ramsey, Özil and Theo still standing, I’m not that worried. Marseille next…
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Table looks nice 🙂
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Well, Well, Well
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I’m sure that Olivier will be fine, but if not Marseille are in for a torrid time. They are going to get midfielded to death, no question.
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Depends whats wrong with his knee. Could be he twisted it slightly, painful but not necessarily serious. Could be he has torn ligaments which is serious but just how serious depends upon which ligaments and the degree of damage. Best just wait and see and anyway we have options.
We are top of the league say we are top of the league….
Arsenal Arsenal Arsenal
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Their goal was from a soft pen. The Altidore goal is the one which should have counted. However, after the opening day fiasco, I’d say we’re even. I will not be crying any tears for Sunderland or Di Canio.
Now on to us. I know the moaners are going to talk crap about Theo not finishing all those chances, but they wouldn’t know the first thing about timing. In the next couple of training sessions, Theo will understand how to make runs for Özil and Özil will learn to pass into Theo’s channel. If I were Arsene Wenger, I’d be very happy with what I saw from both of them.
Olive’s finish was exquisite. I don’t think he’s injured. He just pinched his knee a bit.
Aaron Ramsey. Wow!!!! His confidence is astonishing. I hope people realize he is a big reason we never went for any of the really good young players out there at the moment. Aaron is the real deal.
Jackie boy. Look how he plays when surrounded by quality foreigners. Woy can go eat a bag of shit.
Özil was a bit lost and he still looked like a giant.
Everyone else was good.
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As long as Olive didn’t leave the pitch with an oxygen mask, I am more than relaxed. Also, at the end f the game, he was high fivng his teammates and such.
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Re the Altidore goal – the ref saw a foul. He called it. He could have played advantage, but he didn’t. Altidore scored after the whistle had gone, therefore it was not a goal.
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“Oh no sorry Gibbs has gone forward. I’m wrong still everyone else still correct.”
That moment eh ?
Giroud is ok I hear
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Nice to see that our win is being labeled as “controversial” on some of the news sites. I doubt they called what happened at Villa Park controversial as well…
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Thank goodness for Ollie’s “strong body which absorbs knocks.”
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PG – blogging is all about holding your hands up and admitting you were wrong isn’t it?
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Exactly Evil – Anthony Taylor could have played advantage half a dozen times.
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and I know it’s pointless complaining about the meeja but I foresee exactly the same pre-prepared headlines about Ozil as we used to get about Cesc – dubbing him the star of the show even when he isn’t.
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Controversial? Bollocks to the lot of ’em. OTBAG
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Incommunicado for today’s game – looking forward to Football First – excellent result
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cazorla out for few weeks.
common arsenal!!!!
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Stew,I will follow suit at the first opportunity.I am sure I will be wrong eventually.(I dont actually believe that btw)
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Manure’s victory over Palace was a disgrace. The defending Champions did nothing but play for the peno all game.
Anyone who saw that game knows we could have won by at least seven or eight.
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Cazorla had the flu no?
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No Gains,his ankle is injured
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Well said Mickey Finn!
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Crap.
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Fabulous performance! Up North, a type of game we have sometimes stumbled after the international break, players missing or tired, a spirited over-physical Sunderland.
Negatives: two minor defensive lapses so to speak, one let them in; and left-sided play a little bit weaker (with the unusual formation). Pluses: massive dominance, seamlessly shifted up gears when needed, Aaron another phenomenal performance; Jack looked in such control while still not at his best, Ozil, well, well, quite something; Flamini bossing his part of the pitch, and especially towards the end with tired legs out there. Sagna, never say die. Gibbs so fluent, makes it look easy. Jenks more confident with every outing, and Monsieur Giroud can’t stop being in the right place at the right time, he has the touch of class about him. Theo looked exhausted, and played his part.
And when the Wenger quartet starts playing? At home? AJMS/orT. Man-o-man.
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Everton leading against Chelsea at half-time. If Liverpool do something nice tomorrow we might finish the week where we belong.
And if Santi is out, well, bad luck, but Rosicky is only out short-term, so he will probably be back for midweek or next weekend.
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Aaron fucking Ramsey
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Well, well, well, well, Monsieur Mourinho.
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I agree with Hunter. Aaron. Fucking. Ramsey. Sorry, not very ladylike, but I really wanted to say it. Just this once… (insert banned smiley)
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Can I just say Aaron fucking Ramsey. Last year this time when i hung out elsewhere he was being slaughtered. Cunts.
Isn’t Mourinho doing very well in this 2nd go round with Chelsea? Dire negative set up with two DMs despite an abundance of talented offensive midfielders. Eto’o looked tired and old and fullbacks who hardly passed the half-way line. Well done Mou!
I loved thist pearler from FG concerning those jealous critics trying to piss on George and PA:
“The flaw in the reasoning that it’s better to have somebody inside the tent pissing out of it, than to have somebody outside the tent pissing in, is that it fails to envisage the possibility that you could let someone into the tent to piss in…in warmth and comfort.
“If some people don’t like us, screw ‘em. Their problem, not ours. And it’s all publicity for the blog. So PG wins anyway.”
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I think its me they don’t like Shotta.
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What a fantastic display in the first half. Do we really still lack depth? Arteta is close to a return. Wilshere was excellent, linking up so well with Ozil. Bloody marvelous. Wengerball is well and truely back. Sitting atop of the table looks so nice……
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CONGRATULATIONS ARSENAL , AW AND THE TEAM. Couldn’t be happier except my voice is gone. Lol.
Can’t wait for this TOTAL FOOTBALL to gel some more. We will be taking this league to school on how things should be done. Well done everyone. Keep pissing on the twofaced moaners / groaners. lol
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Look who’s on first… lol
OH TO BE A TRUE GOONER.
aw out. lol.
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Some gorgeous football in the match with our close passing game exceptional – how often have we seen the same exquisite machine disable an opponent since AW arrived ?
Striking thing about Aaron today was he was still as fresh at 85 minutes as he had been at 5 minutes
I thought Jack looked a lot sharper and fitter today too
To be fair I had expected SunLun to contribute zero according to the media reports but they showed up in the second half and posed a few questions
Three good goals
Three very good points
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Özil, aha I know how to type umlauts on my ipad now!
Özil, Özil, Özil………
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“steww
September 14, 2013 at 3:34 pm
Özil is like a German Gedion Zelalem isn’t he? Similar passing style.”
Had to laugh at this, stew – Gedion Zelalem is German (well, he plays for their U16 team).
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A fine advance Georgaki
Your next challenge – should you wish to accept it – is to attach the ogonek to the ‘e’ in Szcz’s name ( the hooky thing underneath)
Stew is setting an Olympic standard on alphabetic accuracy !
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Shotta: “Isn’t Mourinho doing very well in this 2nd go round with Chelsea? Dire negative set up with two DMs despite an abundance of talented offensive midfielders. Eto’o looked tired and old and fullbacks who hardly passed the half-way line. Well done Mou!”
Football genius, according to most Arsenal doomers. So much so that Barry and Naysmith completely handcuffed a full Brazilian international and a player with over one hundred caps for England. They sat back a bit and broke up everything that came their way. It looked like a meat grinder all over that part of the pitch. Now everyone in the league knows how to stop Chelsea. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!
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Coll
Szczęsny!
It’s easy when you know how….
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Flash b*$¥ard !
Watching EFC v Chels at the moment
Waiting for Jose to take off
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All are welcome to join Sensational Arsenal and me in our virtual stadium for the game on Wednesday. You need a gmail account with google+ and google hangout apps. It’s really good fun to share a live game with Gooners from the four corners of the Earth…..
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