A first half strike from Santi Cazorla ensured a victory for Arsenal over Sundeland, the Gunners now climb up to the 5th spot 4 behind rivals Tottenham Hotspurs.
The Gunners recorded a similar score line in their tie against Stoke last week, when a Lukas Podolski freekick made its way past Begovic’s goal securing a 1-0 victory for Arsenal.

In the past weeks we have seen the Arsenal team finally working on their mistakes. Nor did they surrender to a narrow lead or did they fail to match up against the physical teams. The Arsenal team has bolstered some of the most exciting talents in world football over the past few years. There is no denying that their squad has always been full of mesmerising talents, however the team has lacked the winning mentality and the mental strength needed to win crunch matches.
The team has always failed to perform against a side that are quick to close down, or are too physical.

In that aspect Stoke and Sunderland have been one of Arsene’s least favourite fixtures in recent times, especially the visits to Britannia Stadium. However Arsene was able to identify and make amends to errors he had been making in earlier seasons. In the match against Stoke, the Arsenal gaffer decided to rest his star man Santi Cazorla and instead opted to play the more physically fit Abou Diaby. This allowed for the Arsenal midfield to give a better fight to a vigilant 5 men stoke midfield. The 1-0 score line was not a true reflection of Arsenal’s performance in a match they had 15 shots on goal, with 9 of them on target.

Teams playing against Arsenal make an effort to close down their midfield as quickly as possible, this limits the creativity in the middle and Arsenal end up either losing possession or shifting the ball out on the wings where the move does not prosper that well. Sunderland were expected to adopt a similar strategy, Arsene altered his tactics this time and shifted out his most creative player Santi Cazorla out on the flanks. The tactic seemed to work, the Spanish maestro kept drifting in and out of the midfield and when he found space, he drifted a fine strike beyond the keeper’s reach to ensure an Arsenal victory.

In Arsene’s 17 year reign at the club, Arsenal have never failed to qualify for the Champions League spot. However they have not had luck in winning any silverware in recent times. The Gunners can bring an end to the silverware drought this season, with hopes still alive in the FA Cup. The Gunners will host Championship side Blackburn in an FA Cup 5th round tie. Arsenal will also look forward to keeping their hopes alive in the Champions League, when they face German heavyweights Bayern Munich in a mouth watering tie. Bayern is definitely the stronger side on paper, but if Arsenal can maintain their winning mentality they have enough quality to match The Bavarians