Sunderland vs. Arsenal

1-3, Premier League, Stadium of Light, 14.09.2013
Giroud 11,
Ramsey 67, 76

There is no denying the fact that the main focus ahead of this game was on Mesut Özil, especially since he got to start the game despite having been sick earlier this week. It proved to be a good decision, and an even better decision to sign him in the first place, despite the price!

Five minutes into the game we got a corner, which was taken by none other than Özil. He created a fairly good chance with that corner kick, as it led to Walcott getting a powerful shot away, only to be saved by Sunderland 'keeper Westwood. Merely five minutes later, though, our German playmaker would get his first assist in the Arsenal shirt. He controlled the ball at  the edge of the 18-yard-box and provided a brilliant pass to Olivier Giroud, who finished the move off with a classy strike into the back of the net! This obviously means that Giroud continues on his stunning goalscoring run, while the first (hopefully of many) assist for Özil came in his debut! Sunderland almost made a quick reply to our goal by scoring themselves, fortunately they hit the bar instead of the net with a header following a corner.
   During this game we saw plenty of Özil passes leading to decent chances for Walcott. The first of these game after fifteen mintutes, when the Englishman found himself one-on-one with Westwood due to a great pass by Özil. Unfortunately Walcott could not find a way past the 'keeper, who made the save. Minutes later Szczesny was called back into action as a thumping long-distance shot headed his way, fortunately for us he made the important save.
   We got a glimpse of what was to come as Ramsey had a shot deflected wide midway through the half. Westwood them made two decent saves to first deny Özil a goal on his debut from a free-kick and then to yet again deny Walcott a goal. The English winger would get two more chances before the end of the half, the first was a header wide following some great link-up play between Wilshere and Giroud, the former eventually getting the ball to Walcott. Then, in the very last minute of the half, a clever pass by Giroud led to yet another Walcott shot being saved by Westwood, and Özil's follow-up was deflected into a corner.

The beginning of the second half could not have gone much worse for us, in the end we were happy that the scoreline was not 1-3 after the initial fifteen minutes. Right at the start Sunderland got a penalty as Koscielny mistimed a tackle in the box, Gardner scored from the penalty spot. Ten minutes later they scored again, but it was ruled offside, and rightly so, by the ref. Mere minutes after that offside goal they hit the inside of the post with a free-kick, fortunately for us the ball never crossed the goal-line. Considering how we had dominated the first half, this was quite a shock. However, we stepped up our game and overcame the obstacle ahead.
   We have recently been able to see the amazing growth within one of our younger midfield players, he has stepped up tremendously of late and he saved us in this game. Within ten minutes he turned the game around for us, ensuring our victory. Aaron Ramsey has truly become one of our more influential players! The first goal came with approximately twenty minutes of the game to go, Jenkinson provided a great pass to the Welshman and the strike produced was just magnificent, containing both power and precision! The second goal was created through some slick play, Özil got the ball to Giroud, who at once played it onwards so Aaron Ramsey could finish the move off with a superb shot!

This result, along with the fact that both Manchester City and Chelsea dropped points, means that we are at the top of the league (even if just for a day)!! Our recent winning streak has ensured a rapid rise in the table, let's just hope that it continues for as long as possible!

Injury Update:
- Vermaelen is back from his back injury! He was brought on towards the end of this game, bringing Özil's debut to a premature end.
- Mertesacker missed out on this game due to illness.
- Cazorla picked up an ankle injury while away, causing him to miss out on this game.
- Rosicky has picked up a hamstring problem and was not available for this game.