Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Elneny, Ramsey, Ozil, Alexis, Iwobi, Giroud
Subs: Ospina, Gabriel, Coquelin, Wilshere, Walcott, Welbeck, Campbell
__
Sunderland held Arsenal to a 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light as Arsene Wenger’s misfiring side squandered the chance to go third in the Premier League table. Referee Mike Dean denied both sides a penalty in a first half dominated by the Gunners. Sam Allardyce’s team showed more urgency after the break forcing Petr Cech into several decent stops. Neither side though had the sharpness in the final third to find a winner.
Pre-game
Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud retained their place as Arsene Wenger plumped for the same side that beat West Bromwich Albion on Thursday. Jack Wilshere was a welcome sight on the bench; the England international included in a match squad, at the expense of Calum Chambers, for the first time this season after finally recovering from the fractured fibula suffered in August.
First half
After Newcastle’s point at Anfield yesterday there were expectations that Sunderland might come out of the traps quickly, instead, it was Arsenal who made the brighter start, repeatedly shifting the ball neatly through the midfield to set up a host of half chances.
In total, the Gunners had 12 shots on goal in the first half, six of those on target, and had 75% possession. Of course, when you dominate like that you need to score. We came close, but not close enough.
On 3 minutes Iwobi flashed a drive just past Mannone’s post, Sanchez and Giroud had scrappy efforts fumbled clear and Mertesacker, despite making great contact with a corner, directed his header straight at the keeper.
Sunderland grew in confidence as Arsenal grew frustrated by their failure to break the deadlock. Yann M’Vila, Wahbi Khazri and Lee Cattermole all shot from long range before Patrick van Aanholt clipped the post with a fine free-kick after Defoe won a free-kick dangling a leg in front of Koscielny.
Arsenal came close with a free-kick of their own as Sanchez tried to repeat his scored effort on Thursday. The Chilean got his effort up and over the wall, only for Mannone to parry the ball clear. Iwobi couldn’t do anything with the rebound.
Mike Dean, so often at the centre of controversy, then came to the fore, denying both sides clear penalties for handball. After a terrible Bellerin headed clearance Defoe crashed a shot into Mertesacker’s arms at point-blank range, then five minutes later Andre Yedlin blocked a shot from Iwobi who’d been set up brilliantly by Giroud. The half ended with the home fans yelling, “You don’t know what you’re doing” at the officials.
Second half
Sunderland came out with renewed vigour after the break, first Cech pushed away a Defoe volley and then clawed away M’Vila’s follow up. Moments later the keeper got down to his right to push away Khazri’s shot from the edge of the box.
At the other end, Arsenal had an uncanny knack of tying themselves in knots. Too often intricate passing went nowhere and when it did we squandered our chances. An Iwobi sliced shot was particularly galling given the goal was gaping.
Sunderland stepped up the pressure in final thirty minutes with Jermain Defoe particularly dangerous. From a Cattermole pass the ex-England striker improvised a deft looped finish that had Cech stranded. Thankfully for the Gunners the ball dropped just wide. Another break saw Defoe escape Mertesacker, Koscielny had to tidy up.
Arsene Wenger responded by sending on Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott in place of Iwobi and Giroud. The latter wasn’t best pleased, reportedly mouthing, ‘Why always me?’ as he sat down in the dugout.
The two subs nearly took advantage of some reckless keeping from Mannone as the former Gunner misjudged a Cech goal kick and missed the ball after roaring out of his area. Dean deemed Kaboul’s subsequent treatment of Welbeck as legal when it was anything but.
Arsenal kept pressing and Welbeck and Sanchez both stung Mannone’s palms. In between Wenger turned to Jack Wilshere who replaced Mesut Ozil. The home side looked more likely to steal the points in stoppage time but, as was the case for both sides all afternoon, the quality of finishing let them down.
4th….Here we come.
Fuck’s sake.
May 2017 – The start of the post Wenger era, I can’t wait.
It can’t come soon enough.
In Wenger We Do Not Trust
Pass pass pass pass pass pasz pazz pazz zzzz zzzz. …ah fuck sake shooooooot!!!
The story of my Sunday. Two weekends on the trot ruined. On to the next one I suppose. COYG
you sure about that ? wouldn’t be surprised if he got a 3 year extension. we are all stuck in a rut .
I’m ready for the post Wenger era, but I don’t think it will come in 2017. Would love to be proven wrong, but I’ve had my hopes dashed so much by this team in the past few years that I won’t be surprised if Wenger is given a new contract.
Never even looked like scoring, especially after we went down to 10 men when Walcott came on.
I’m not even that surprised at how shit we are. If anything my emotional investment is on pause until this man leaves.
He’s sadly destroying all the good he once did
Certainly not going to end nicely
I have no idea why Wenger refuses to play Campbell. Everytime he comes on the pitch he looks lively and ready to score.
Absolute mystery to me and everyone else I’ve asked. Maybe he’s really rubbish in training? I don’t know…
I never thought I would say this but…
Get out while you can Joel!
It symbolizes the Boss’ stubbornness and why we are struggling to even get 4th place.
More of the same shit.
When Walcott came on, I thought, ‘Wenger’s answer to shit is to throw shit at it’.
Unbelievable substitution. Not saying the rest of the team were much better, but how Walcott can be the answer to anything is beyond me.
He put in a couple of good crosses to be fair to him. Otherwise he was his usual self.
He does a good job of pretending to try, without actually trying. Why, when Mannone had decided to give us the ball in front of goal did he let Kaboul get a second stab at the ball (having fouled Welbeck – how that was not given, I can only put down to it being Mike Dean in charge)?
Also, Ozil was pathetic today – didn’t look like he could give a flying fuck.
He should’ve been taken off immediately after that, never seen an arsenal player bottle a challenge so badly. Fucking pathetic.
Player Ratings should be fun this week
No footballing brain, didn’t know what to do when he got there at pace, just like not knowing what to do when he has time running at goal.
But I actually thought Theo was pretty good for once today!
It’s all mad this season….
Walcott pulling out of that 50-50 was an extremely poor show. Man’s on a gazillion pounds a week and should be throwing himself into situations like that but he fails to do so time and time again.
We lack that killer instinct, that incisive play we used to have. I like Oli but he was bad today and you can see he’s way out of form at the moment.
Why is the boy Joel not getting more game time?
Ozil is playing like he’s saving himself got the Euros.
Theo pulled out of that tackle like he’s saving himself for the Euros,,,,,, that he won’t even be at.
To be honest, it’s best he does that. Worst case scenario would be him getting injured and we can’t sell him.
Good point.
Ozil is playing like he’s just pissed off with the dross he has to play with. I mean, we just look like we have no idea what to do next….constant recycle our own possession and go back. Just stick it into the dangerous areas…behind full backs, into the pen spot give and go. Our front line was so static today. At one point we had 5 players on edge of box, back to goal…what do they expect? Make a diagonal run, spin in behind, look for give and go, come to the ball to create space in behind…anything!!! Wrong mind… Read more »
He pulled out the tackle there Theo, he could’ve been through on goal but shame, that just sums him up..
That moment when Theo just ran past the ball to avoid a possible tackle…
I think it was because he didn’t want the nightmare situation of being one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
Theo is the perfect encapsulation of Arsenal.
The keeper wasn’t even the box. Theo would have been one-on-one with nothingness.
Still terrifying for him, I suppose.
When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares also into you…
He’s trying to put Wally Cot in the shop window for the Summer by playing him – and hope that it doesn’t cost us qualification for the CL. Wally won’t be here in August – who can forget the decision to give him the captains armband earlier in the season as a reward for being an Arsensl player for 10 years – wtf was that about (and didn’t that game end well)! 10 years – what a waste!
On a positive note Leicester won 4-0 – in Ranieri we trust!
Giroud was fucking terrible today.
Yep ! But I struggle to think of anyone – maybe Chec and the two full backs ? – who were otherwise.
ELNENY!!
Yes but is him hoofing it from outside the box and aiming for the moon starting to get tedious? If only a little bit but still. Much appreciation for effort and the rest but I’d like to see him tidy up that side of his game before long.
I only noticed Elneny missing one pass all game (admittedly I did miss the first 15 mins). I like what I see. And trust; he’s got a long shot on him and we desperately need someone who’s not afraid of having a crack from long range as it appears our squad are under strict instructions only to shoot from within the six yard area.
I’ll admit to only being sporadic as well but his hoof from outside that went high was one of the things I saw. Maybe I’m unfair but it seems he does them regularly but without any result so far. I agree he has power behind them and I’m all for him doing more of them if only he can start hitting the goal more often. Ideally put them in the back of the net. Other than that, he is a breath of fresh air at the moment. Another new player not overcome by fear, fatigue, banjaxment or any of the… Read more »
The two full backs??? I thought they were piss-poor today.
I thought Iwobi was at least trying
Cech and Elneny played well. The fullbacks were just as poor as the rest of the team. Mertesacker was ok.
WTF?
Iwobi looked like he was trying.
Not sure why he continues to leave Campbell on the bench, pretty sure he would put in a shift at least.
Iwobi is good. He has the fearlessness typical of young players given a first team slot. Long may it continue!
Everyone is asking the same thing, were is Campbell?
Indeed,he had an absolute stinker. What was annoying was the way he always seemed to face away from goal and pass back when he actually had a chance to take on a player or at least shoot. Welbeck must play upfront in the final three games if we are to have any chance of retaining our beloved 4th place trophy.
How poor was Ramsey today. Why does Wenger keep picking him
I don’t blame Ramsey. He’s not a DM , and yet Wenger continues to try it. He’s CAM or nothing. Wenger to blame
I just don’t think Ramsey’s passing is very good for a midfielder in the system we (try to) play.
Not his fault, and I don’t think he was our worst player today (at least he tries), but it’s just a bit depressing seeing him try to pass out from the back when his passing is so inaccurate he dawdles on the ball because he’s not confident of finding a target.
Ramsey is at his best further up the pitch. Getting in the box with well times runs. Hard to play like that when tasked with being a deep lying playmaker.
I actually think coq is a better passer of the ball than Ramsey, what happened to Ramsey, he was so good that one season
Ramsey? CAM? His assist and goal stats beg to differ.
Guys want to go on about walcott, fair enough, he has been shit this season, but ramsey has not been pulling up any trees either. Neither has Ox/Giroud. Not saying they should be sold but if they are anywhere near the first team next season, it is going to be a repeat of the same, regardless of who we sign.
Ramsey is Wenger love child. A player that would not get into Southampton starting eleven.
Completely shit footballer . That the Welshman starts for us tell you all you should know about Wenger!
Very poor is the answer. And it’s not the first time.
Everybody was shit today. Not just Ramsey. AW has to figure out a new system as this one has become too predictable. I am not sure he will do it though
Ramsey was picked because he had a good game against West Brom. I think if he hadn’t have been picked, we’d be blaming Wenger for picking Coquelin ahead of him.
But yeah, Wenger did keep him on the whole game, so…
Can i say something?
No you bloody well can’t!
You gotta laugh! Played!
Cant think of any positive words for the match though, suggestion?
Nobody died?
Nobody lost?
My suggestion, it was shit. Not positive enough maybe but today it’s the best I can do.
Poor result. Wenger should have started with Wellbeck.
Giroud doesn’t offer us anything up front. He’s clear struggling for form. Giroud hasn’t scored since January I believe. The players looked tired.
The defended well and stuck 10 behind the ball. Usual Allardyce tactics.
Kabul should have been sent off for his shove on Wellbeck when he was the last man.
Mike Riley doesn’t give us those type of decisions.
Hello 4th spot. Nice to see you again!
Does Welbeck offer us much more, though? I mean he hasn’t exactly look prolific since returning from injury. The only difference between the two is that Welbeck runs faster. In front of goal, though, neither fills me with much confidence.
The only forward we have who looks capable of scoring a goal is Sanchez.
Boring, boring ARSENAL!
At least when that chant was coined originally it was because we were intentionally playing that way – now we’re just predictable and toothless.
The dot come have just posted the game highlights. I trust that it’s actually a Rick Roll.
So. Painfully. Dull. And. Predictable.
Back to where we belong! Nice one lads. COYG! Keep it up. Fucking pathetic. I can’t even be bothered anymore. Results aren’t even affecting me.
Agree about not caring any more. Says it all that my chief emotional investment in the result was wanting to beat them so Allardyce goes down and Rafa stays up. Massive kudos to Rafa for getting those players to believe in themselves and really put up a fight. That’s what a good manager does. Were the Wenger-out banners prominent again? Hope so, not because they’ll change anything in the near future but because it’s important we send out a clear and repeated message to the board that their inertia has dragged on for too long. Wenger holds the fans in… Read more »
That looked more like a relegation showdown than a clash between top and bottom of the league. Once again we are nowhere near good enough and, truth be told, I think they got closer to a goal than we did today. Also that result now puts us into a nice 4th place scrap with City and United. Fantastic.
Why do our players always try those cute little flicks inside the opposition box.
Sometimes you just need to put your foot through it.
I’ve been wondering that for some time – are they trained to do these intricate flicks which have such a low success probability?
Sideways, sideways, sideways,….sideways, flick! …oh we lost the ball
I really wonder what Walcott has on Wenger…. Surely he has to be blackmailing him
Surely not as Ramsey’s leverage on him…
We are the most boring and predictable side in the histories of both boring and predictable.
Also, how the fuck does Kaboul not get whistled for a foul after decking Welbeck with an open goal and keeper somewhere near the halfway line?
Please leave our club Mr Wenger. Enough is Enough!
I thought we deserved a point today! 🙁
Did we?
Yes
Sunderland deserved a point.
I think that’s the point (no pun intended) 🙁
yes
Buzzing for a fourth place finish. We r a bunch of crappy guys with a crappier Manager.when will all discounts stop 15 years. Good balance sheet = more mediocrity!
I can’t remember the last time we played that poorly…. Oh wait, yes I can.
But for an individual piece of brilliance and some dodgy goalkeeping we could’ve had the same result on Thursday.
No we couldn’t, but I do agree that we have serious issues at present! 🙂
Time to cash in on Walcott. Absolutely not a top tier player and continues to prove his lack of worth. At least Giroud tries to be better than he is. Wenger also making subs far too late – how is a midfield substitution supposed to make a difference with less than ten minutes in the game?
My guess is that, since 2005, the number of tactical substitutions Wenger has made before the 65th minute is hovering close to zero.
Hard to see getting more than 10m for him. Hope for a big offer from far flung leagues
As the players still can’t be bothered neither can I.
What the fuck is Walcott still doing on the pitch?! He is utterly useless. I’m becoming seriously frustrated by this.
Giroud was terrible, absolutely terrible. We need a world class striker ASAP (yes, I fucking used this term).
Our passing was slow, indecisive and unsure. We were poor and didn’t deserve to win. Period.
A feeble effort against a relegation team.
Horrific
Apart from Kos, Elneny, Iwobi – that was pants.
Elneny was kind of rubbish. He’s quickly learning the Arsenal way of not giving a fuck when you loose the ball.
You Sir are strange!
You are deluded.Elneny was the best player on the pitch.Constantly covering Ramseys ass and piss poor passing.
When a player don’t give a shit after loosing the ball and strolls back like Denilson then yes you are rubbish. But we all thought Denilson was the messias too.
Good to see all that extra from Theo in training is paying off….. is it June yet?
*extra effort is what I meant. I couldn’t be arsed typing it!
What I just watched was a manager and team who no longer give a shit. its got to a point where i am really beginning to resent the team. actively dislike them. I know dropping out of the top 4 makes signing players difficult but i think we really need a shake-up. A shock to the system if you will. This lot deserve nothing. I certainly wont miss the champions league dross. if we drop out some drastic changes may happen. That said, I wouldnt be surprised if stan trolls the fanbase by offering wenger a new 10 year contract.… Read more »
Can anyone explain why was Campbell not brought on?
Ramsey left per exposed twice. Should’ve been subbed off.
I am not sure why giroud just stands in front of defenders trying for flicks rather than trying to split the cb by running channels. We were able to break their midfield but there was nothing in final third.
Kos forgot that its football and ducked as if its a bouncer in cricket.
Bizarre substitution. Could’ve lost the game
Theo is english and earns 140k a week. That’s why.
Yes. I’ve long thought Wenger gives British players – note Ramsey as well – more chances so as to curry favour with the media. He’s a popularity-seeker; it’s just that we don’t often notice it because he takes about ten years to register the criticisms. The favouring of British players is a response to the media attacks on him during the Invincibles era! Ten years from now he’ll blow the entire transfer budget on a dozen defensive midfelders. Poor Joel Campbell. I guess the only positive is that may sell him at a profit and he’ll find a club where… Read more »
Be fair to Giroud – he also falls over whilst laying the ball 2 yards backwards to a team-mate a few times a game.
Seriously Arsenal? Seriously?
If you think Arsene Wenger should still be Arsenal manager you are mental. We are boring, stale & predictable & in urgent need of new ideas.
Same sideways passing, same 70th minute subs when they needed to be earlier.
Does no-one at the club have the balls to say to Wenger that his approach isn’t working?
We are not very good in football
4th place trophy is just there for us to grab.. we are setting bench marks for how a team can be so frustating to watch..
#gettheoldmanout
Woeful. So bored watching Arsenal. Never looked like scoring. Slow predictable, too many long passes to nobody, no intensity, nobody can tackle, no movement . Enough is enough, time for Wenger to go, and my season ticket!
So you are a Wenger fan then? He goes and so does your season ticket??
Confused 😉
I wonder if Wenger drives for 70 minutes then replaces his tyre with Theo Walcott when it punctures, given that whether or not the change is useful means nothing to the man
We’ll be lucky to keep fourth at this rate, that was two dropped points that I blame 100% on the manager. Ramsey was bloody awful, but has to be fitted into the team somehow, Iwobi not much better ,and when he does eventually bring on the subs it’s Walcott ahead of Campbell AGAIN! What on earth has Joel done wrong???
What Campbell has done wrong? He tries, he works hard, he track back, he perfoms everytime he gets a chance, something forbidden for him under Arsene. Seriously, the whole selection of Theo over Campbell is nothing short of absurdity at this point.
Unfortunately I suspect Arsenal would have been better off this season if Ramsey had gone on holiday when Cazorla went down. Arsene’s insistence in picking Ramsey as a central midfielder over and over again has killed this season. Just when it looks like he’s realised Elneny and Coquelin is the way to go in the absence of Cazorla… right back to Ramsey, just in time to make sure we go back to dropping points.
Ha! Walcott. So concerned he might miss the euros he now jumps out of challenges. Wonderful. Thats what £140k a week gets you.
Just what I was thinking! The irony is that by doing that he’s not providing any reason for Roy Hodgson to pick him.
Giroud is plain useless…I’m sorry, this guy has been nicking a living. Say what you want about our defence, but we have the worst strikers in the top 4. Giroud has cost us points for 3 years straight. When Henry told us he wasn’t good enough, you guys slagged him off and praised Giroud when he said Henry was talking nonsense. 13 fucking games!!! Arrogant average striker. If wenger signs a new deal, then he is deluded. You went into the season was 3 average strikers and DARED to think you could win the league. Wenger needs to get lost.… Read more »
You deserve credit for saying all along Giroud is not good enough. Naturally you were down-voted and flamed at the time.
It was obvious to anyone who saw past the HFB nonsense. He’s no different to bony and demba ba.
3 seasons wasted on this guy as first choice.
Another depressing afternoon watching players who couldn’t give a shit managed by a manager who’s well past his sell buy date
Zzzzzz… What? It’s finished? Great, I can go back to alphabetising my stamp collection.
At least it was good to see Jack back, and still able to turn and ghost past an opposition player.
I wonder if we will hear the trademarked Walcott post match when-we’ve-fucked-it-up interview on .com tomorrow and if he will answer exactly why he chose to jump over that ball. Fucking talentless coward.and Wenger is worse for continuing to put up with his shit. How must Cambell feel seeing th manager put on the least talented footballer inthe club ahead of him?
That was an utter waste of time. Playing 70 minutes with Giroud doing less than nothing. Welbeck did nothing when he came on. I would be worried that any striker would struggle in this set up. It seems like the centre forward barely touches it and when they do it’s only because they pull out wide. Build up play is horribly slow, left then right or right then left. We only score if there is a lapse in concentration from the opposition. This is Wenger’s style and it has been this way since he decided to try and play like… Read more »
I just hope we get 3rd. The annoying qualifiers are the last thing we need.
Hope and reality are two different things, because the reality is this team looks barely capable of holding on to fourth.
We will be lucky to get top 4 ,can’t see us getting anything out of the city game big clearance needed in the summer most of our lads simply not good enough, Ramsey was woeful today no fight in this Arsenal team whatsoever it’s just painful to watch at the minute
Luis Suarez has scored more goals in 2 weeks than Giroud has scored all season. Is it a fair comparison? No… But if ”we want to be in Europe’s elite and compare ourselves to Bayern Munich” as Gazidis wonderfully put it 2 years ago. We at least need a striker who can fucking score… No? I mean, to not score a goal in 13 games is beyond shameful.
To be fair Ozil has flattered to deceive this year. Best in his position in the world some say and he can’t even carve open Sunderland? he is so overrated.
This is a joke right? He broke Lampard’s chances created EPL record today… He created 5 chances which weren’t finished. He creates the chances. People fail to finish them. He does his job (18 assists this season) it’s the people in front of him who are as capable of scoring as a flagpole made from papier mache…
He just created 5 chances. Knowing that we have giroud,wellbeck and walcott he should’ve created 15 chances.
(All season he has been trying to do just that and has succeeded most times)
It’s not Ozil’s fault our strike force is incompetent. He didn’t have the best game but at least he’s doing his job. Giroud hasn’t done anything worthwhile since January. How can you compete for a title with a striker like that? Let’s just call a spade a spade..
Insipid and lacking in intensity, this won’t change until the manager leaves and a new one with those qualities comes in.
again no Cambell, clearly the booing when he was sub’d vs Swansea has got Wenger’s goat…..
balls. pubic hair. the team sleepwalked through the game. why do we make average players look like world class. goalkeepers become supermen, defenders have games of their lives and lee catermole was made to look like pirlo.
Lets swap Ramsey for Kante and Wenger for anybody. We might miss out on the top 4
I’m struggling to imagine any reason a top player would want to join Arsenal.
Wait, so the side that struggled to score at home against West Brom outside of two long range shots, the kind 7amkickoff went to great lengths to show are low percentage shots, struggled to score again today? And Wenger went with Walcott over Campbell again and Walcott made no discernable impact? And Cech had to bail out a leaky defense? Just a little too predictable.
I would rather see Campbell on the left and Welbeck on the right with Sanchez up top. Giroud and Welbeck are not able to provide goals due to very poor goal scoring form. Neither is playing well. Also add Coq for Ramsey.
In wenger we want out!
You have problem as a footballer when your teammate passes to youu and your fan screams why to Walcott?!