The relief was writ large on the features of the goalscorer, Aaron Ramsey, but it was even larger across those of Arsène Wenger. When Ramsey’s injury-time clincher hit the net, the Arsenal manager pumped his fists before springing into a little jump and trotting around when he landed.
“I was very nervous today,” Wenger said, and it had shown.
He was worried about Sunderland’s threat on set pieces but he had other concerns – chiefly, finding a new balance, having “lost the core of the team in midfield”. Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin are long-term injury casualties. Wenger’s body language betrayed his anxiety throughout and it was a strange sort of atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium. Both Arsenal and the home crowd lacked intensity.
“Maybe Arsenal were a little bit edgy because they had not won in three league matches,” Sam Allardyce said. “They were jittery and we had the opportunity to punish them but because we didn’t punish them, as always at this level of football, you pay the price.”
Sunderland had the chances. “And they were not half-chances, they were golden chances,” their manager said. There were a handful of them, with Fabio Borini blowing the first on four minutes, when one-on-one with Petr Cech, and Patrick van Aanholt the final one, in the 89th minute, blazing over from the substitute Jack Rodwell’s pass.
Positive reading
Arsenal got the job done. It was not a performance or occasion that will linger long in the memory – save for the embellishments of Mesut Ozil, the assist-meister – but the positive reading says that title-chasing teams must pick up unremarkable wins. More immediately, it was a tonic before their do-or-die Champions League away tie against Olympiakos.
“For our confidence, it was vital,” Wenger said. “If we hadn’t won, everyone would question the players we were missing and the fact we had not won for four league games. For our serene side, it is better to prepare for the Olympiakos game knowing that we have won.”
Wenger did not seek to downplay what is at stake in Athens. His team have qualified for the second phase of the Champions League in each of the previous 15 seasons but if they do not beat Olympiakos by two goals, or by one goal while scoring at least three, they will fall short.
“Our record means a lot to me,” Wenger said. “The one positive thing is that we know exactly what we have to do. We were a bit insecure against Sunderland. It will be a different game against Olympiakos. We just have to go for it.” Guardian Service
