3 Talking Points (Arsenal vs Sunderland) – Sanchez, The One Man Army

A brace from Alexis Sanchez was enough to give the Gunners a comfortable win and send them into fifth spot. Once the Gunners took the lead thanks to an error from Wes Brown, they never really looked in any trouble. Although the home side started to pile on the pressure in the final 15 minutes, the Chilean scored again to make the scoreline more comfortable. Defeat meant that Sunderland lost their unbeaten home record this season and leaves them just one point and one place above the last relegation spot, which is currently held by Newcastle United, who have a game in hand against Tottenham on Sunday.

Here are the major talking points from the game.

1. Injury crisis has left the defence down to the bare bones

If there was one thing that Arsenal were crying out for over the summer, it was a commanding centre back. Although they managed to sneak into the Champions League last season, they still had problems at the back and with the sale of Thomas Vermaelen, it was even more crucial that Wenger went out and signed a few defenders. But the Frenchman didn’t and the Gunners look as though they might be paying for over the next few weeks.

The North London side started the season with just six senior defenders, which is nowhere near enough for a side that is supposed to be challenging for the League. Injuries to Mathieu Debuchy and Laurent Koscielny meant that they went into the game against the Black Cats with an out-of-favour left back playing in the heart of defence. Kieran Gibbs’ hip injury now means that they will now have count on youngsters until January, which is the earliest, the club can sign an established defender to fill in at the back. Although they were hardly test at the Stadium of Light, tougher tests lie ahead and Wenger must be ruing his decision to not sign more defenders in the summer.

2. Poyet continues to be let down by his players

After a 8-0 humiliation at the hands of Southampton, a game in which the players on the pitch genuinely disinterested in playing, Gus Poyet would have wanted a response from the players. If not for him or themselves, then at least for the fans who made the long trip down to the south coast to see their team completely ripped apart. But after a bright start, just like they enjoyed against the Saints last week, the Black Cats pressed the self-destruct button and gifted the Gunners a goal.

Although it was against the run of play, Poyet couldn’t have helped but felt an eerie sense of deja vu all over again. Thankfully for him, his side showed a lot more fight and determination than they did last week. They got at the visitors’ make-shift defence and the manager would have certainly taken heart from the performance of his players in the first half. And yet whenever they had the ball in defensive areas they conceded possession far too easily and it was another defensive blunder that gave the Gunners their second in stoppage time. Although it was only two this time, unless they stop gifting goals, the Black Cats will find it hard to remain outside the relegation zone, which they currently do.

3. Sanchez, the One Man Army

If it weren’t for Alexis Sanchez, Wenger would have been moaning about another occasion in which his players failed to make the most out of the possession that they enjoyed. Danny Welbeck had the sort of the game that led to him being labelled not up to the mark at Manchester United. Santi Cazorla missed two guilt-edged chances and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had one of those games in which he ran around a lot, hassling and harrying opposing defenders, but doing precious little going forward. Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini were only just starting to get used to one another’s games.

In fact, the defence, which many had qualms about before the start of the game was where the visitors were strong. Nacho Monreal deputised well at centre back and the others too had a good game. But the only player in the side that looked like scoring a goal was Sanchez and it was no surprise to see the Chilean get up on the score sheet. Whether it is giving Joel Campbell and Lukas Podolski a chance or giving Aarron Ramsey more game time, Wenger has to do something to reduce the work load on the Chilean attacker, who at times, seems to be carrying the burden of attacking all on himself.