The Game

To start with, yes, Darren Bent’s goal should have never taken place because when you give four minutes of stoppage time and when the clock reads 94:02 the ball is cleared, you blow the whistle.

But, a draw would have been flattering to us. Not because of Sunderland, mind you. I mean if you analyse the game closely you will see that Sunderland enjoyed more possession and put more pressure on our back four but they played at the top of their game and we blocked all their attempts bravely. Can you remember one menacing shot by the home side before the equaliser? Neither can I. Enjoying plenty of possession does not necessarily mean you deserve to get something out of the game.

And yes, we scored a lucky goal but it’s also true we created chances and won a penalty when reduced to 10-men. So ultimately, we deserved to win more than they deserved to get a draw. But to go back to my remark on why we didn’t deserve to get all three points, well that’s because when you are a defender and you don’t behave like one, you deserve to be punished. Our central pair, Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci as well as Bacary Sagna on the right were phenomenal but Gael Clichy doesn’t belong there, I’m sorry.

The first sign that trouble was looming was when he tried to dribble his way out of our penalty area, was robbed of the ball but we survived. Things didn’t change in the second half as I immediately remember when he tried to pass it to Rosicky instead of clearing it long. And then the goal, embarrassing in hitting his own team mate in his panicky attempt to clear the ball.

Believe me, I love Gael’s determination, the commitment he puts in every single game and what he gives to the side when pushing forward but he’s an awful defender and this is not an isolated case. It’s time for him to learn to take the right decisions back there or else give Kieran Gibbs a chance to show whether he can adequately replace him or not.

Wenger will be upset in his post-match interview and rightly so, the referee was shocking, but I said it weeks ago, our left-back position is in an emergency state and needs to be addressed. Immediately. Just notice how in almost every game that’s the flank our opposition target. It’s not a coincidence.

All in all I have mixed feelings about the game. I am not completely devastated by the outcome but I find myself asking questions, actually not just about Clichy but also why the likes of Samir Nasri and Andrey Arshavin were shocking when we needed their creativity the most, the first half that is. Please don’t feed me the excuse that the Stadium of Light is a difficult place to win as based on what we saw these are two dropped points which I’m afraid could see Chelsea take a comfortable four point lead at the top.

To conclude with, whether you agree with my ratings or not, submit your own at Arsenal Interactive and make sure to share them on Twitter and Facebook.

Match Video Highlights

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Player Ratings

Almunia: 7,5 – He’s gaining more and more confidence with every game, bossing the penalty area and dealing exceptionally well with high balls.

Koscielny: 8,5 – Perfect, no other adjective to describe his game. Especially when down to ten men, he was still rock solid answering all the questions the Sunderland players kept asking over and over again.

Squillaci: 8,5 – As equally good, and really, today’s game has showed that we are covered at the back. Well, at least in the centre and on the right.

Clichy: 5 – Started well, very well, blocking all attempts from the right and was a beast when going forward but he went downhill as the match progressed. Seriously Gael, you’re one of the true fighters of the team but learn to defend or give way.

Sagna: 7,5 – Handled everything in the air and made sure to keep Sunderland at bay on the right flank.

Song: 5 – Decided to be our Cesc Fabregas today, surging forward which meant leaving poor Jack Wilshere all alone in midfield. Regardless of the decision of not booking Bramble minutes later, Alex’s second yellow was deserved, he simply didn’t care about the ball, went for the man.

Wilshere: 6 – Very, very poor start though he did improve as the game went on. Some of the tricks he tried in the middle of the pitch were so uncalled for though.

Fabregas: No Vote – Not easy to rate our captain who only stayed on the pitch for 29 minutes. The news is that it’s a hamstring injury which usually means two weeks out.

Arshavin: 5,5 – Awful. I understand some players can create magic at any time and he went close with a nice right-footed low shot but it would be fair to give someone else a chance to shine, Emmanuel Eboue or Carlos Vela to name a few.

Nasri: 6,5 – As equally shocking as Andrey in the first half, but stepped it up a gear in the second half especially after we were reduced to ten men. Still disappointed, a game lasts 90 minutes not 45.

Chamakh: 7 – What more can you ask from him? Shields the ball to perfection, helps the midfield and was crucial when we went down to ten men to ease the pressure off the defensive department. Misplaced a number of passes but I can accept that.

(Subs)
Rosicky: 6 – Penalty aside, his performance was not that bad. He held the ball nicely in midfield and created some nice gaps for his team mates.

Denilson: 6,5 – Showed all the good and bad he brings to the team. Phenomenal in breaking up Sunderland’s game and surging forward after winning the ball but the one-minute fiasco started with the back pass to Almunia was horrible. The way he let Ahmed Al-Muhammadi surge past him on the left was no good either.