Arsenal had more possession, created a number of chances, were never seriously threatened, yet the result was in doubt until the very end.
In the first half Arsenal created several chances; Welbeck and Cazorla narrowly missed and Chambers forced a save from Mannone.
The goal was a gift from Wes Brown, who scuffed his back pass, courtesy of some pressure from Alexis Sanchez, who was rewarded by a breakaway followed by a chip over the advancing Mannone.
The second half became more and more sloppy with the Gunners guilty of repeatedly giving the ball away and not putting away their chances. The main culprit was Santi Cazorla, who had three good chances to put the game away.
As Sunderland managed to keep lingering in the game, they became braver and braver and started to launch a number of high balls into the box, although Arsenal were never seriously under threat.
The second goal came from a mistake from Mannone, who was unable to clear the ball, instead bumping it to Alexis Sanchez, who calmly put the game on ice.
An ugly win, but a needed one. Arsenal will now have a week off to try and regroup. Kieran Gibbs, though, looks injured.
Player Ratings.
Szczesny 5. Very little to do. He created the most dangerous moment of the game when he rashly came out and headed to van Anholt, leaving his goal wide open. Thankfully the resulting shot was off target.
Chambers 7. A decent game from Calum. Finished the game in the middle because of Gibbs’s injury. Made a number of decent crosses in the first half and had one shot, which he hit straight at Vito.
Mertesacker 7. A good game for Per who won most of his headers and made a decent challenge on van Anholt in the first half.
Monreal 7. Was not really exposed today and he was tidy and strong at the back, including a strong challenge that injured Fletcher. Did give away one free-kick in the first half in a dangerous position. Ended up as a fullback and he made a couple of good moves forward, one of his crosses headed over the bar by Welbeck.
Gibbs 7. Badly missed a shot in the first half, but he was solid and kept Johnson relatively quiet. Unfortunately, he limped off and you have to suspect we won’t see him for at least another month. The injury bug continues to bite him.
Flamini 7. A good game for Flamini. He got through a lot of work and he avoided receiving a yellow card (even though he made a couple of questionable challenges).
Arteta 7. Mikel returned from injury today and his presence and tidy play helped to protect the defence and keep the ball moving.
Oxlade-Chamberlain 7. Alex ran a lot, started to look dangerous as the game stretched out and legs tired. That said, he wasn’t able to make the decisive difference.
Welbeck 7. He had a strong shot that just missed in the first half and a header that just missed in the second. He kept the Sunderland defence busy and was useful as an outlet.
Cazorla 6. Santi is getting into great positions, but he just isn’t cashing in. He had three great chances in the second half … the first he hit too softly and the next two he hit high and wide. Needs a goal to get his confidence.
Sanchez 8. Man of the match. Two goals given to him by Sunderland. He was always busy and always a threat.
Substitutes:
Bellerin 6. He made a couple of poor passes and made a poor cross with Sunderland’s defence exposed, but he put in a decent shift and helped shore up the back.
Ramsey 6. He had a couple of chances near the end to make an instant impact, but nothing came off for him.
Rosicky n/a. Came on and played about five minutes.