[Player Ratings] Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal: Sagna & Szczesny Ensure Vital Win

Arsenal ground out a superb win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon to keep in touch with the top-four. We were excellent in the first half and played some beautiful football. Cazorla finished off a great team move involving Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott to give us a deserved lead midway through the first half and only the brilliance of Mignolet kept the score at 1-0 at half time as we dominated proceedings.

We almost paid for the missed opportunities as Carl Jenkinson handed Sunderland the initiative after being sent off for two bookable offences on the hour mark. The last 30 minutes was a rollar-coaster affair with the home side going close on several occasions but Szczesny pulled off a number of stunning saves, but we also had a few chances on the break with Theo hitting to post when put clean through by Cazorla.

But we held on for a vital three points and kept pace with Chelsea and Tottenham, who both also won on Saturday. Here are my player ratings for the game:

Arsenal Ratings:

Szczesny – 9 – Stunning display. Superb save to deny Fletcher who was clean through in the 77th minute, made another stunning save to deny a Fletcher header before tipping Johnson’s low effort round the post as the hosts pushed for the equaliser. A proper match-winning performance.

Jenkinson – 4 – Booked for an early tackle on Colback, then showed his immaturity with a crazy lunge from behind on Sessegnon to get a second yellow card on the hour mark. Looked rusty all afternoon. Must do better if he’s to usurp Sagna from the team.

Sagna – 9 – A true warrior. Moved into the centre of defence after Koscielny picked up a problem in the warm up and Bac produced his best performance of the season. Put his head on everything and made several vital clearances and blocks. Back to his best.

Mertesacker – 7 – Like his partner, Mertesacker got himself on the end of several crosses and held the backline together as we came under increasing pressure.

Monreal – 6 – Poor piece of defending allowed Sessegnon to power into the box early on and was generally given a tough time by the Sunderland man in the first half but improved after the break when the tricky attacker switched flanks. Settling in well in England.

Wilshere – 7 – Bursting run through midfield created the first goal and was combining well with Cazorla, Walcott and Arteta in the first period. Picked out for some rough treatment from the home side and was forced off early in the second half. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious.

Arteta – 7 – Showed his attacking instincts in the first half but went back to his ‘protector’ role after the break as Sunderland got on top.

Ramsey – 7 – Forced a superb save from Mignolet on the half hour mark with a rasping drive from the edge of the box but missed a golden chance to add a second just before the break. Sloppy play lead to a great chance for Fletcher but generally Ramsey had a good game and showed his versatility by moving to right back when Jenkinson was sent off.

Cazorla – 8 – Ran the game in the first half and was back to his attacking best. Lovely strike for the opener and played a superb through ball to send Walcott clear late on. Much better from Santi.

Walcott – 7 – Lively start and went close with a couple of decent efforts. Got himself an assist with a neat lay-off for Cazorla’s goal. Dragged a shot wide from the edge of the box just before half time and hit the post when clean through with 15 mins to go. Got himself in some great positions but just wasn’t his day.

Giroud – 6 – Missed a glorious chance to open the scoring after 20 minutes but dragged his shot wide from a tight angle. Didn’t have his shooting boots on all afternoon but he showed his importance to the team with some important headed clearances from corners at the other end.

Subs:

Diaby – 5 – On for Wilshere but unfortunately didn’t have the same impact as the youngster. Put a tame effort on goal straight at Mignolet but was generally very quiet.

Miquel – N/A – On too late.

So all-in-all a superb result in the end, despite the wasted chances. We showed our resilience and held on for an important three points. Next up is Blackburn in the FA Cup. If you didn’t watch the Sunderland game you can see highlights here.

What were your thoughts on the game and what were your player ratings? Get involved in the comments section below.