Arsenal 2 Sunderland 0: How good was Eboue? Match reports and player ratings
Arsenal 2 Sunderland 0
From Goodplaya at the Emirates
The team selection was notable for… Cesc celebrates
Ramsey ahead of Denilson and amen to that. Too often Arsene’s team selections and substitutions feel very hierarchical to me and it’s as if nobody ever really gets dropped. But on this occasion Arsene went for it and even more pleasingly, Ramsey wasn’t the default first player to be withdrawn. Indeed, he played the full 90 minutes and enjoyed a far better game than in the return fixture.
And also…
Eboue at right-back in exactly the kind of game he should start. His defending wasn’t at all bad, but Sunderland at home is the kind of afternoon where you can sacrifice the extra solidity Sagna brings in favour of the extra pace and power of Eboue. He really was excellent by any standards. Garrincha he may not quite yet be but as someone who couldn’t stand the sight of the man a year or so ago, I can only offer positives here. He simply drove at Sunderland and fittingly set up the opener for Bendtner.
Sunderland…
Played with three strikers, which was possibly a first for a visiting side at the Emirates.
Can anyone explain…
Their fans. They came in huge, almost cup tie numbers. They seemed to be continually fighting each other. Loads of them left their seats after 35 minutes and quite a few didn’t appear for the second half. What was going on?!
Silvestre v Sol…
The thing with Sol is that the bad moments simply induce a lot less stress on my heart than Silvestre’s do. Sol gets done for pace – fine, I can handle that. But every time a ball gets played over the top and Silvestre gives chase, I think I lose about three weeks off my lifespan. Seriously, my heart just leaps.
Our general approach…
Was quite good really. We had a balanced look about us, with height up front, pace on one wing, trickery on the other, an enforcer in midfield and a marauding full-back etc etc. And we were pretty disciplined throughout. We went for the second goal after the break without being cavalier.
Cesc…
Didn’t have his best game but still got us the penalty and scored it. His pumping of the fists to himself after scoring reminded me a little of the way I celebrate our goals and I liked that.
Alex Song…
Was excellent, particularly in the second half. He was in the right place time and time again.
Theo…
Had a bit of a nightmare at times, crowned by two crosses that should have curled but instead ballooned, the kind of skill most footballers learn age about 8. But then I guess Theo wasn’t playing football at 8. That said, he had a couple of good runs and the second he went off, we suddenly looked a lot less dangerous and Sunderland had a lot less to worry about.
Other than that…
There is not all that much to say. The United result was a reminder to all the pessimists that for all our failings against United and Chelsea this season, we’ve been more consistent than United and as consistent as Chelsea against the rest. And while this year people say you can’t win the league without beating your closest competitors, so in seasons gone by they’ve said you can’t win it unless you can win the bread and butter fixtures.
Next week at Stoke…
Is absolutely huge. It’s a real bellwether game. Lose it and it will be hard to see us pushing on. Win it and it’s go, go, go.
And finally…
The playa ratings: Almunia 7, Eboue 9, Clichy 7, Silvestre 6, Vermaelen 7, Song 7.5, Cesc 6.5, Ramsey 7, Nasri 7.5, Theo 6.5, Bendtner 7. Subs: Rosicky 6.5, Sagna, 6.5, Denilson NA.
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