While I hate to be negative when it comes to Arsenal the win against Sunderland was just what the doctor ordered following the nightmare against Bayern Munich midweek, with the Gunners playing some lovely one touch football that their supporters have come to expect.
This first-half display as magnificent as it was came against a team of players who all had one thing on their minds, and that is next weekend’s Capital One Cup final against Manchester City which was evident in the way they stood off Arsenal afraid to tackle for the fear of getting injured.
You must remember to play in a final at Wembley is a big deal for players at Sunderland who may never get the chance to ever do it again with the Black Cats manager Gus Poyet saying as much in his post-match press conference following the 4-1 defeat.
“Wembley could have been on the players’ minds but this was a very good wake-up call,” said the Uruguayan.
Arsenal now face a much tougher task at the Britannia Stadium in their next match against Stoke City who almost managed a share of the points against Manchester City at the Etihad on Saturday, but should the Gunners come away with all three-points it will be an indication that all is well and that the season is still on track before meeting Everton in the FA Cup quarter finals on March 8th at the Emirates.
