Afternoon all
I hope we've all sat down and relaxed. I'll admit, when Bent scored the equaliser I was fuming. But that was just normal passion for winning. I understand football messes with emotions, I really do. But, a little perspective is needed here guys. We lost last season at the Stadium of Light, and we also had 10 men for more than 35 minutes, and I believe we will welcome that point when looking back on it.
The game started reasonably well. Arshavin had a snap shot fly over the bar. The goal which put us 1-0 up was incredible. A one-off. The ball was played back to Anton Ferdinand who for whatever reason dilly-dallied on the ball, allowing Cesc to close him down. Anton's clearance smashed off Fabregas' leg and looping the Sunderland keeper from all of 40 yards. The goal came at a price as Cesc was taken off to be replaced by Rosicky.
I thought we handled Sunderland very well. Koscielny and Squillaci looked excellent, backed up by a commanding Almunia. Ten minutes into the second half, Song was given his marching orders having received a second yellow for obstruction. The first was very harsh but Song was in cynical fouling mode, and needed to show much more discipline.
We received a chance to wrap up the game 10 minutes from time when good play from Nasri saw him clipped down in the box. Stand-in Rosicky stepped up to take the penalty, blazing the penalty over the bar. Shocking penalty. And ultimately, very costly.
The equaliser came following a scramble in the box, finally making it's way to Bent who hammered past Almunia. Disappointingly, this came 30 seconds or so after the additional 4 minutes of play. So you can understand Wenger's and the fans reactions. Those of you who blame Clichy in the build up to the goal is harsh I feel. His clearance hit Koscielny and into the path of Bent, if it didn't hit Koscielny it would have been cleared to safety. Desperately unlucky.
On the face of it, a draw at Sunderland is not a bad point to pick up. Down to 10 men for almost half a game, a point is pleasing. Remember we lost there last year and certainly this year we have matured.
Plenty of positives to pick out. I thought Almunia was great (yet again), Koscielny and Squillaci on the whole superb. Chamakh again ran himself into the ground. In the second half, Wilshere was excellent and Rosicky and Nasri were busy on the ball.
Now, the reason I'm disappointed is because far too many gooners for my liking have spat the dummy. Blaming Wenger, Clichy, Arshavin etc etc. Give it a break! We're not going to destroy teams like Braga every week. It's just not possible. The mood on Twitter after the game was unreal. Some of you kept it calm, and I'm sure the same people agree with me at how embarrassing it was to read such tantrums. We have been spoilt by viewing a brand of football unseen in this country on a week to week basic, and now we need some perspective!
On a side note, can I just say a massive well done to the Arsenal fans. Again, they were in great numbers and made a wonderful noise. Representing the club brilliantly. Keep it up!
We are second in the league, unbeaten and have a fine squad. I am incredibly excited about our prospects this season. I just hope alot of you are too!
Keep the faith!
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