Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Gibbs, Chambers, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Iwobi, Campbell, Walcott, Giroud
Subs: Macey, Debuchy, Arteta, Ramsey, Monreal, Willock, The Jeff
—
Arsenal booked their passage to the 4th round of the FA Cup, coming from behind to beat Sunderland 3-1 at the Emirates this afternoon.
As expected there were changes with Gabriel, Kieran Gibbs, Calum Chambers and Joel Campbell all coming back into the side, as well as a full debut for Alex Iwobi. Petr Cech, Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott added some seniority to the team. With Walcott and Campbell on the flanks, Iwobi played in behind Giroud with a double-Chambo in centre of midfield.
The first shot on goal came from the visitors, Lens cracking a shot not too far wide but Cech was always focused. In response Giroud set up Gibbs after a good Arsenal build-up but his shot was straight at the keeper – from the resulting corner Chambers headed over when he might have done better.
The game was pretty dull stuff but in the 17th minute the visitors took the lead after a terrible mistake from Koscielny. The Arsenal captain on the day tried a little drag back inside the attacker on the edge of the box, Lens robbed the ball and smashed a shot into the net. 0-1.
Less than 10 minutes later though, the scores were level. Arsenal worked it well through midfield, fed it wide to Walcott down the left hand side. He drove into the box and pulled the ball back to the penalty spot – Campbell ran onto it and finished superbly first time into the bottom corner. 1-1.
He almost had a second a minute later when Pickford parried a Walcott shot back out to him, but before he could nod it home a defender got there just in time. Oxlade-Chamberlain had a pop but dragged his shot wide, Chambers again got a head on a corner but couldn’t trouble the keeper, while at the other end Gabriel blocked a shot from the troublesome Lens after some carelessness in the Arsenal midfield and back four.
Strong play from the Ox fashioned a chance for Iwobi late in the half, but he could only poke wide as the teams went in level at the break.
Early in the second period Pickford had to be alert to deal with a good delivery from a Campbell free kick as Arsenal tried to put some pressure on. A fine ball from Iwobi put the Costa Rican behind the defence but when he cut the ball back there was no Arsenal player there to tap it in.
In the 56th minute Oxlade-Chamberlain saw a shot crack back off the post, and Walcott couldn’t make the right contact with the rebound, putting it wide when he probably should have put us ahead. If that was a lucky escape for Sunderland, there was one at the other end when Fletcher’s thumping close range header came back off the bar, before Watmore blasted the rebound over.
Moments later good work from Iwobi and Campbell saw the Arsenal number 28 clean through, but Sunderland’s debutant stopper came out and smothered his shot really well, while again Fletcher threatened, heading over from a free kick.
Arsene Wenger made a double change in the 67th minute sending on Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta for Chambers and the impressive Iwobi, and there was a great chance for Walcott when he was set up by Gibbs – his side-footed effort was straight at the keeper however.
It was one of the substitutes who got us ahead though when Ramsey scored in the 73rd minute. Bellerin played a one-two with Campbell, fizzed in a low cross and Ramsey was there to score from close range. 2-1.
And within two minutes the lead was extended and again it was Bellerin who was the provider. He got down the right, saw Giroud’s run into the box, and played a beautiful low ball to the back post which presented the Frenchman with a chance he couldn’t miss. 3-1.
Arsenal’s leading scorer for the season should have had a penalty when he was clearly fouled when shooting, but referee Martin Atkinson waved play on, and Arsenal were thankful to Petr Cech who made a fine save to keep the two-goal lead intact.
That prompted the Arsenal manager to make his final change, taking off Campbell and giving a full debut to The Jeff. The young Frenchman was involved in the move which saw a thumping Giroud header tipped over the bar, and in injury time he was denied a goal by smart goalkeeping having been set up by Oxlade-Chamberlain.
In the end Arsenal’s extra quality shone through, and we go into the 4th round draw which takes place tomorrow or something.
MOTM: bellerin
Campbell
Shame he didn’t get out when he could!
There was a moment at 2-1 where Sunderland broke and Campbell sprinted past bellarin to put a tackle in inside out box. Quality effort.
Bring on the Mugsmashers and their bad hamstrings!
Bellarin is the new Ozil!
A num 10 in the right back position!
A great performance from all our young players today. Bellerin was electric, Campbell with some great movement, Chambers holding his own in midfield, Iwobi with some impressive dribbling and Ox made some great runs and passes. Very impressed with the team today and especially with how cool they kept their heads despite going a goal down. Now bring on the Scousers!
Can understand why Debuchy would be begging for Pulis, too. Taking on naked headbutts would be easier than competing against Hector.
Please help me, I am terribly confused about Bellerin.
All this time I had pronounced his name as BELL-E-RIN. But today on TV the commentator kept on calling him as BEY-E-RIN. Was I wrong all this time or this is something the guy on TV invented himself?
In Spanish a double l (ll) is pronounced as a y
He’s Catalan, in his native language his name would be pronounced bell-e-rin, however being Catalan currently also makes him Spanish and Castilian Spanish speakers would pronounce the same spelling as bey-e-rin. The latter is wrong strictly speaking, but will be a common mistake that people make and something I’m sure he’s used to.
Catalan AND Spanish use a “y” sound for “ll”.
Bey-er-in, it is.
But whenever I’ve watched Spanish commentary, which I do as often as possible because it’s funny, they say Belleree’een, which sounds funny. It’s only the English speaking commentators why use the “ey”. Which sounds both stupid and irritating.
Spanish speaking commentators also say Geebbs which is very funny.
Ah indeed you’re right, I must’ve confused it with something or other that’s pronounced differently in Catalan (probably the ‘j’), compounded by the double mistake of assuming all those commentators who pronounced his name wrong all this time actually have a clue.
In English some consonant sounds are different from Spanish, which leads to the confusion.
In Spanish it would be pronounced Bey-e-RIN. Bell-e-RIN is just how the the same word would be pronounced in English. Since it is his name, Bey-e-RIN, is the correct way to do it. In reality, most English speakers just say it the English way.
In the same way, Santi’s name should be pronounced Cath-or-la not Ca-zor-la. Santi doesn’t seem to mind which people use though.
Oops, forgot he’s Catalan. In which base it might just be the commentator using the normal Spanish rules, whether they apply or not.
Thanks a lot everyone!!
I think someone needs to ask the lad himself on Twitter.
While we’re at it, some one clarify Cazorla as well. Spanish commentators say Cassorrla while the British ones say Cathorla. Needless to say “Cathorla” sounds so retarded that it painful to even think it. Please someone in the know say it’s just plain old Cazorla!
As a very amateur linguist this question interested me some time last year and I did some research. Santi is from the north, but the Cazorla family name, from his father, is characteristic of the south, and in fact there is a mountain range and a town by that name. In those areas that use of z is called “ceceo” and is generally pronounced as what linguists call a voiceless denti-alveolar sibilant. What this means in plain English is that it sounds very much like “Cathorla” but not exactly; there is more sibilance (hissing) to the sound. That said there… Read more »
Awesome!
Thanks!
Nothing “very amateur” about that research, mate. Well done!
Jedi training coming along well for Obi Wan Iwobi.
At first I see Kanu in him — silky first touches, balls seem magneted to his foot.
Then after a few passes I see Diaby in him — great vision (even for the passes that didn’t work out, you can see his intentions) and direct.
The future seems promising, it felt so much like Zelalem a few years back.
Great win on our way to Wembley!
MOTM shared between Campbell and Bellerín !
Love that we’ve got supporters all over the world. How come you support arsenal, Texasgooner? Are premier league games shown on TV over there? (Off topic, I know. Just wondered.)
All premier league games shown live and very accessible, unlike in England and other countries where a few selected games are shown. From Texas
Really?! I’m coming over! I wish they did the reverse over here and showed live baseball games. Is it popular then, prem football?
it’s good in Canada too, usually on a Saturday we’ll get 5 or 6 games live, maybe one or two more delayed.
If I don’t mind waking up at 4:30am on Saturday and 5:30am on Sunday here in Vancouver, I can probably watch 8 or 9 out of 10 matches on a weekend live on TV. We’ve got two networks here, one with seven channels and one with five, and they show almost all the matches.
All the games are shown here in the U.S. (Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Champikns League). All live too! It’s changed a lot since I moved to California from Lonfon 25 years ago, and there are plenty of “home grown” supporters here, especially for Arsenal. You’d be amazed (I still am)!
That’s brilliant, thanks. What about other teams? Many Chelsea fans, for example?
There’s a Chel$ki pub in Vancouver, but it’s smaller and less well attended than the Arsenal pub. We had over 600 out for the FA Cup final last summer.
What’s even better is that when NBC Sports isn’t showing the game on tv you can go into their app and stream it very easily. Every EPL game is streamed live through their official app so you don’t have to find some shady online stream. So you could feasibly be a fan of a random team like Newcastle and still see all their games. EPL isn’t hugely popular but has definitely been picking up steam, enough that NBC paid a sizable amount for the TV rights when Fox’s rights were ending. And yes Chelsea is quite popular amongst those who… Read more »
And for those in the states who have dish network, the premier league extra time games are on 875 and up
He just has class I think. No matter if they show the games on normal TV, a true goner shall find a way to see beautiful things happening.
Can’t argue with that.
We get all games here in USA (not only Texas). EPL broadcasted by NBCSports. Champions League and FA Cup by FoxSpors. Tons of Arsenal fans here in Texas
Gooner for life!
I’m not TexasGunner but I am an Arsenal supporter that lives in TX. We get all of the Arsenal games on tv as well as games from all of the big European leagues and have for the better part of a decade.
I personally started supporting Arsenal back in ’01 when we first started getting premier league games on TV and I fell in love with the class and footballing style that Arsenal play with (Bergkamp and Henry didn’t hurt). Since then I’ve crossed the pond multiple times to see our lads play!
Yeah Tomas it’s ridiculous but you actually get better premier league coverage abroad at the moment! It’s same in Holland you can get all the premier league games whereas here even with sky And Bt subscriptions on top there are still games not shown!!
Even in India, at least the games of the big four clubs are telecasted. And Arsenal have an amazing fan following here. I’m surprised that people in UK don’t know about it.
I am from South Africa and have been Arsenal since about 1968 when I was about 9 or 10
My older brother and I used to play sport (football, cricket hockey, tennis golf rugby whatever) in the passage and he (strangely) gave me the the choice of Tottenham Hotspurs or Arsenal. I liked the sound of The Arsenal.
Our family is Arsenal my daughters are Arsenal (upon pain of being disowned :))
My stepfather was a geordie so one of my sisters is Newcastle (shame)
Great replies, thanks! Makes you proud to be a gooner! I wonder if the nbc app would work in the UK? Probably not. Probably knows your location, I should think.
The nbc app also requires confirmation that you are subscribed to a cable or satellite TV service here in the States, so whilst you could trick your location you won’t get past the subscription part. Regarding support here in the US. Arsenal are definitely one of the best supported teams and dare I say the best supported team that hadn’t won a trophy (before the recent FA Cup wins). That’s something to be proud of. Back in the 2000’s when I was coaching youth soccer in California I was surprised to see Arsenal shirts used as the primary kit for… Read more »
So glad Joel didn’t get out while he could… Very impressed with him today!
I am genuinely happy for Campbell. This is guy is as honest as they come.
And Finally, welcome Le Jeff!!
Good performance, Bellerin was great, nice to see Ramsey score. Giro us just keeps on scoring. Delighted, Liverpool next, Ózil will be fresh hope he rips them apart. COYG
Giroud* Just* stupid predictive text..
Autocorrect cunt John Terry, as is the correct parlance around these parts.
So glad joel has taken these chances in the first team by the scruff of the neck,looked like his days were numbered at arsenal,now I’d rather him start ahead of theo.
Great way to start…. extra great because we beat Sam Allerdyce team
I wouldn’t swap Joel for any player in the world at the moment. He truly is giving his all for the shirt.
Can’t hold it in any longer……..get in Joel Campbell. Such a player and is Oxs future in the middle? seemed way more assured.
fantastic win playing well
Great win and a decent game overall. Big improvement from Ox who seemed more like his old self and Campbell just gets better and better
I saw the Jeff!!!!
COYG!!!!
I know right !!!
I took my son to his first game today, he saw “The Jeff” and said “that guy is a beast, he’s twice the size of Gibbs!”
MoTM for me: Campbell. He makes me forget a while about Alexis injury. His dribbling and passing were excellent. Bellerin was good with his assists too, Ramsey was game changing substitution.
Poor Sundeland young goalie that name is a bit like Wolf of Wall Street character, got very disturbed by his own back four, completely disarrayed by our men.
The referee might as well came on the pitch in a clown costume.
Yeah my feed was a bit grainy but how was that not a penalty?
Ditto – seemed cast iron to me. Thought there were a lot of iffy calls throughout the game but who cares – we’re through and Gabriel’s ankle seems to be okay!
“One of the most experienced referees in the premier league”…yeah that sounds about right.
One of the worst referees in the PL, which is probably why he’s one of this summers European championship Referees……
Campbell my motm, but hey Iwobi was pretty good today.
I was listening on Arsenal player and when, (in the 82nd minute) they stopped for an Arsenal substitution I took the chance to wander off to the toilet, as I was entering my toilet I heard my wife call to me “they are launching the Jeff”!
Well played boys…!
Love Arsenal! 🙂
That’s my dream. Having a wife that supports Arse
Funny, i had exactly the same experience but was watching from a pub in E London. Took the arsenal substitution as a cue to quickly go to the john……walked back in to a chorus of loud chanting by the fortyish arsenal fans in the pub…” Le Jeff! Le Jeff! Le Jeff!…..to which i enthusiastically joined!……tell you what, the boy has got something that just gets fans excited, and we are not stupid. he really is special! great win by the lads today. Well played bellerin (the flash) and campbell, who is well and truly an arsenal 1st team player now.… Read more »
Three great goals!
Also glad to see The Jeff make his debut. Chris Willock gotta wait a little longer then…
Campbell or bellerin-misses-bayern-trip-with-injury?
Bellerin*
What Bayern trip?
He’s referring to the Bayern match a few seasons ago. …..
Wait….. Campbell is still on loan while Bellerin is still in Arsenal under 21.
What is he talking bout?
Champions league quarter final obviously.
Or does he mean ‘Barca’?
#JEFF #JEFF #JEFF #JEFF #JEFF #JEFF #JEFF #JEFF #JEFF #JEFF #JEFF #JEFF #JEFF #JEFF #JEFF
The treble is on!
Look forward to seeing Iwobi have a much lower jersey number next year and playing in the first team. Looked great today and not out of place in the slightest!
I agree. was quite impressed by him…….also looked to me as if he has matured a bit more physically……another exciting youngster, no doubt
I thought Ox was good today
NO. He was shit as usual.
ok
At 23?, the future belongs to Joel Campbell.
Three lovely goals today. I thought the midfield three of Iwobi, Chambers, and The Ox grew into the game and once Ramsey and Arteta came on it was over for Sunderland. That was a really enjoyable performance after a shaky start. I love the FA Cup.
I’ve really enjoyed watching Duncan Watmore this season as well. He seems a cut above your average pale, lanky winger. Great dribbling ability and running.
And is that not the most blatant penalty you’ve ever seen not given?
What was all that with Walcott and the random fan on the pitch in the end? ???
Walcott gave that kid his shirt and a memory of a lifetime !
He was doing the bump that Theo normally does with Per. Classy by Theo to do that!
Im guessing it was a ball boy and not a fan from the stands, judging by what the kid was wearing. The stewards were not letting the ball boy on the pitch either.
There’s a certain song that our crowd sings, which to me sounds like:
Diaby…..Diaby….Diaby…..Diaby ,or like
We are we….We are we…..We are we…. ,or even
Who are ye…who are ye….who are ye…..
Does anyone know what I’m talking about? We sang it for about 5 minutes strong starting at about minute 57. I can’t figure it out and it’s frankly bugging me!
Back on topic, today was a comfortable victory – just the kind that I like.
To the tune of Let It Be:
Diaby, Diaby,
Diaby, Diaby,
He kicked John Terry
Diaby, Diaby.
Red army! Red army!
Sorry thumbed you down inadvertently
Perfect. That’s it!
Thanks a lot, guys.
Enjoy your basking.
I made the dame mistake before,I think what you’re hearing is red army red army
I think you’re referring to:
Red army… Red army.
Is putting Iwobi in the middle another smart move by Wenger? He played a great game, especially considering this was his firsl senior start and only 18y old. Assured on the ball, good trickery, good strenght and height, he looked a lot more at home than in the previous games when he played on the wing for the seniors.
Wenger is a legend at spotting and nurturing talent.
Great game, been off here a while. Does anyone know where I can watch Arsenal games in the USA, Alpharetta Georgia?
Today’s was on Fox Sports 1. The Premier League matches are on NBC channels: NBCSports, USA Network, Extra Time, et cetera.
If you want to watch with other Gooners in the Atlanta area, follow @ATLGooners on Twitter. They keep everyone up to date on matches and location.
Download mobdro, I am from Dublin but I live in Michigan and I watch all of Arsenals games on it.
Our best forward combination is
Sanchez Giroud Campbell
Walcott in the middle is efficient as well. New structure makes him dull. but he defends well nowadays!
HectÖr Bellerin….
Damn. Beat me to it. And yours was far better
Mesut Bellerin
Rambo looked like the Welsh Ozil when he came on! So Ozyllngyll, I guess. Great performance by the boys in the second half.
Who are ya
Not much of a match but a mature peformance from the boys. Bellerin amazing with 2 assists, campbell is giving his all, Ramsey changed the course of the game by his desire to win. Thought that Iwobi looked more out of place than the Jeff, imo he should have started ahead of him. The Jeff looks so much more assured on the ball, he could be a successor to ozil one day, so much potential.
It’s easier to be ‘assured on the ball’ when your team is leading 3-1.
Iwobi did very well for his first start.
Hopefully ‘Jeff’ will be equally as good (or better) when his time comes.
Well bud, quite true, did not take that into account.
No Ozil, No Sanchez, No Cazorla, No Welbeck, No Rosicky, No Wilshere. NO PROBLEM!!!
Campbell played his heart out. This run of games has done wonders for his confidence. This is the Campbell that played in the World Cup.
H.Bellerin – I hope we never have to sell this guy. Our RB position is sorted out for the next decade.
No Le Coquelin
No Le Coq too.
Could Cambell be doing a Coq?
Most improved player for me, after Flamini of course -he’s better than Messi and Ronaldo
Wenger mentioned it in his post match interview on Arsenal Player, that Campbell is in Coquelin mode.
Iwobi was very very good today. Also lovestruck by The Jeff
Highlight:
The camera got a close up of Fat Sam fingering a wad of saliva soaked gum out of his gob, flicking it about then in his paw, before chucking on to the hallowed surface. As if that wasnt enough, he magicked another chunk out of his pocket and slickly fired into the back of his jaw area. It was really a beautiful, skillful moment for Sunderland.
Reminded me of another obnoxious manager from a while back……………….!!
Could someone not politely ask him to use a bin? The poor groundsman probably has to go around picking up 5 packs worth of Wrigleys after the game.
Who’s next…. Looserpool, manure, manshity? Bring them on, COYG
for us down here in Nigeria, Iwobi has done us proud.
COYG
When I went to Abuja in Nigeria for easter four years ago, I’ve never seen such extraordinarily well-informed and crazily-into-it fans. I’m sad Arsenal curtailed their Nigeria trip, the country would treat them like gods.
Have to say, I like Joel Campbell. He’s very technical, hard working and has pace. Obviously needs more game time, but he certainly deserves a new contract. Plus he hasn’t been injured to my knowledge. That makes a change for us. Excellent showing by Bellerin and the Ox looked positive.
Sam Allardyce came a long way on a coach, lost badly on a rainy day, had to do interviews about how his team lost, and then had to get on the coach again for a long journey home in the dark wit rain pattering on the steamed up windows. Perfect.
You my friend are evil 😉
Same three scorers for the Gunners as the 3-1 victory over Sunderland a month ago. But no og by OG 🙂
Just saying.
Sorry clock end, accidental down vote…
So it seems Dick Law was onto something stalking the Panther through the Costa Rican rainforests those years ago.
And we got him for a bargain – a rounding error in today’s huge transfer fees. That million pounds has certainly multiplied over the last 4 years. The club even got some decent loan fees from Lorient, Betis and Olympiakos while he was sent out to polish up his skills.
Plus we got Gabriel. It was like one of those swap transfers in FIFA career mode.
Great win. Good football. Onward to an FA Cup treble. What is most heartwarming is that the lads that had been on the fringes are all stepping up to the plate- Campbell,Iwobi,the Jeff and Ox.
Thought Iwobi had an excellent game, kept it simple, played with his head up and The Jeff looked good too some exciting youngsters coming through now. Best we’ve played since City. COYG
Bellerin….the özil of the FA Cup
Treble arsenal fc f.a cup ours yes coyg
Bellerin, The PFA young Player of the year!
Happy with that. Loved the 3 goals today but especially the 2nd two. Ping, ping, pass, pace, lovely finish… Goal!
I smell a double with this team. They look that good.
Also, watching Manure against Sheffield United is hilarious. The Red Devils are really putrid.