Arsenal got a boost in fourth place race with an important 2-1 victory against on-form Sunderland in the Stadium of Light. Coming from behind 0-1, the winner come at the injruy time, with Thierry Henry tapped Arshavin's cross. All Arsenal's heroes were all from the bench. Aaron Ramsey, who replaced injured Per Mertesacker, need less than five minutes to score the equalizer. Andrey Arshavin - coming to replace Walcott - created the winning goal, while Thierry Henry, Chamberlain's subsitute, was the one who scored the winning goal, on the injury time. Credit must be given to Wenger, that this time his substitution changed the momentum of the game.
Has to be admitted that this is not Arsenal's best performance. Not too creative in creating opportunity. Relatively quiet game for captain Robin van Persie, who only got few chances in this match. Rosicky and Arteta failed to spark the midfield - despite being tidy on possession - and Song misplaced some passes in this match. Chamberlain wasn't too lively on the left wing, and Theo Walcott was quite ineffective on the other flank. Mertesacker was lucky not to conceded a penalty in the first half, but unlucky to be injured while chasing the ball, which leading to Sunderland's goal.
However, Arsenal's spirit must be praised, they came from 0-1 down, against the team who has better recent form from them, and this is an away game, where Arsenal's form has been very poor. Last twenty minutes Arsenal played well, and could score goals earlier on if they play like this from the beginning of the match. Andrey Arshavin, who has been recently criticized for lack of confidence, and Aaron Ramsey, who benched in the last two match, proved their worth. Thierry Henry, who played his last EPL match, scored the winner in the injury time. Like the commentator said "It's like written on the script", Thierry Henry still showed his class in Arsenal shirt, and once again, he scored for the Gunners in his short-term spell loan. This is his third goal, after the winner against Leeds in FA, and the seventh goal against Blackburn.
This massive victory brings Arsenal to the fourth place, because in the same time both Chelsea and Liverpool losing from Everton and Man United respectively. Of course Arsenal still need to be consistent in order to secure fourth place this season. This victory would also boost Arsene Wenger's team morale against AC Milan in the first leg of Champions League, just few days from this match. If they showed great character like they showed today, the victory in San Siro is not impossible
No comments:
Post a Comment