Arsenal had to fight to take all three points at the Stadium of Light after they were reduced to ten men with Carl Jenkinson receiving two yellow cards on 62 minutes. In all fairness the Gunners should have been out of sight but Sunderland then piled on the pressure and keeper Szczesny pulled off some excellent saves to maintain Arsenal’s lead.
Theo Walcott could have made it 2-0 but hit the woodwork but it was Cazorla’s first half goal that proved to be the decider in this one.
All in all six yellow cards were brandished with two of them shown to Jenkinson – looking at the reaction on Twitter many Arsenal fans were upset at the amount of yellow cards their players were shown. Arteta committed the most fouls in the match (4) whilst Sessegnon and Cattermole were both fouled three times.
Arsenal will be more concerned about the injury to Jack Wilshere as he was taken off injured early in the second half with Abou Diaby replacing him. With many important Champions League and FA Cup games to come the last thing Arsenal want is for Wilshere to be sidelined.
However this will be a satisfactory victory for Arsenal – holding on with ten men and their star player injured, showing a lot of fight in the face of adversity to grab three vital points in the race for a Champions League place. Pressure will now be on Everton to get a result at Old Trafford.
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