Arsenal strolled to victory by grabbing a convincing 4-1 win over Sunderland to move just one point behind Chelsea at the top of the Premier League.
An Oliver Giroud brace and goals from Tomas Rosicky and Laurent Koscielny kept Arsenal´s title bid in full flow as the team bounced back admirably from a difficult few weeks. Indeed, whether the Gunners finish trophy-less this season or not, the campaign will be defined by a definite shift in mentality. Gone are the days where Arsenal would sink without a trace following a bad result, this is now a team with ambition and mental strength.
Faced with a humiliating defeat against Liverpool and a disappointing loss to Bayern Munich, Gooners in the Emirates and beyond would be forgiven for thinking the same old Arsenal had returned. However, this display shows that the team is now ready to compete consistently at the highest level and Arsene Wenger is seeing his vision come to fruition.
Not that Sunderland posed much of a challenge; the Black Cats clearly have one eye on next week´s Carling Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. However, the way Arsenal took victory is encouraging, especially during a first half that all but killed the game
Lukas Podolski was brought in to replace Mesut Ozil, with the German sidelined with a thigh injury, although there is a suggestion that Ozil was actually dropped. Also returning to the team was Mikel Arteta (suspended on Wednesday) for Mathieu Flamini and Tomas Rosicky for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
It took the team just five minutes to take the lead when Jack Wilshere´s guile saw him scamper into Sunderland´s box. The England man found Oliver Giroud and the striker wasted no time in slotting the ball cleanly into the net for 1-0.
Sunderland defender Santiago Vergini collected the ball on the defensive right and played a shocking ball towards goalkeeper Vito Mannone. The pass was too short and Giroud rushed in to thread the ball past the helpless goalkeeper to double the lead in the 31st minute.
Arsenal continued to be on the front foot and the third goal came before half time, essentially ending the contest before the midway point. Wilshere and Santi Cazorla were the architects after a sweet piece of play resulting in Giroud laying on Rosicky for a feint chip into the Sunderland net. Dennis Bergkamp was honored before the game with a bronze statue outside the Emirates and the club legend, who played 400 games for the Gunners, arrived on the pitch at half-time to answer some questions, much to the delight of the fans.
Arsenal started slower in the second half as Sunderland posed more of a threat, but in the 57th minute the hosts scored a fourth when Cazorla´s corner was met by Koscielny, who was free to head into the net. The game was won and Arsenal went down a gear, which allowed Sunderland to grab a consolation in the 81st minute when Sczcesny´s weak punch was met by Giaccherini with a stunning finish.