Supersub Olivier Giroud fires Arsenal past Sunderland
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Updated 29/10/2016 at 17:48 GMT
Premier League, Stadium of Light - Sunderland 1 (Defoe pen 65) Arsenal 4 (Sanchez 19, 78, Giroud 71, 76)
Arsenal's Olivier Giroud celebrates scoring against Sunderland
Image credit: Reuters
Olivier Giroud scored twice from the bench as Arsenal went top of the Premier League and extended Sunderland's miserable start to the season.
The Frenchman volleyed in with his first touch to restore Arsenal's lead after a Jermain Defoe penalty cancelled out Alexis Sanchez's headed opener.
Arsenal had looked in real danger of dropping points against the bottom side when Defoe finished coolly from the spot, only third his goal against the Gunners in 22 Premier League matches, after Petr Cech upended Duncan Watmore on 65 minutes.
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Arsenal's Petr Cech takes out Duncan Watmore for a Sunderland penalty
Image credit: Reuters
Giroud's first goal was swiftly followed by a headed second from a Mesut Ozil corner, before Sanchez completed a flurry of three goals in seven minutes.
The win moved Arsenal three points clear at top of the Premier League ahead of Manchester City and Liverpool's games.
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Wenger: Arsenal answered questions about spirit
Defeat in front of Sunderland's biggest crowd of the season at the Stadium of Light - 44,322 - will see the pressure on manager David Moyes intensify
The Black Cats are still without a win in the Premier League, with just two points from their first 10 matches, and key fixtures to come against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium next week and a home tie against fellow strugglers Hull City on 19 November.
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Sunderland's Jermain Defoe flicks the ball in front of Arsene Wenger and David Moyes
Image credit: Reuters
TALKING POINT
How much longer has David Moyes got?
Sunderland kept it close for 70 minutes before eventually succumbing to a high-quality Arsenal side; on the face of it not the worst result in isolation. But in the context of Sunderland's dismal start to the season, this represented another capitulation by a side still searching for their first win after 10 Premier League games.
Objectively it would be ridiculously harsh to ditch Moyes after just a handful of matches - but with survival looking an increasingly tall order and Sam Allardyce waiting in the wings for a possible return, time could be running out on the Scotsman.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
Is there a player more suited to British football than Chile international Alexis Sanchez? He has speed, technical excellence, he is brave and he is unselfish, all qualities that mark him out as a top Premier League player.
His first-half goal was a throwback to the 1980's, hurling himself at the ball at the near post to bullet a header past Jordan Pickford. But is his link-up play with Mesut Ozil that really stood out. Both Sanchez and Ozil are agitating for big pay rises if they are to extend their contracts at Arsenal; the Gunners' board should loosen the purse strings and sign them up as soon as possible.
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Alexis Sanchez celebrates opening the scoring for Arsenal against Sunderland
Image credit: Reuters
PLAYER RATINGS
Sunderland: Pickford 7, Jones 6, Van Aanholt 6, O'Shea 6, Kone 5, Rodwell 6, Pienaar 6, Ndong 6, Khazri 6, Watmore 6, Defoe 6. Subs: Djilobodji 6, Januzaj 6, Gooch 6.
Arsenal: Cech 7, Gibbs 7, Mustafi 7 Koscielny 7, Bellerin 7, Elneny 7, Coquelin 7, Oxlade-Chamberlain 7, Ozil 8, Iwobi 7, Sanchez 9. Subs: Giroud 8, Ramsey 8, Maitland-Niles 6.
KEY MOMENTS
13' – CHANCE! Sanchez sets up Ozil down the right channel with a brilliant pass, but Pickford is across to make the save.
19' – GOAL! Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal. Oxlade-Chamberlain crosses from the right and the leaping Sanchez nips in front of Kone to head past Pickford for his seventh goal of the season.
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Alexis Sanchez scores for Arsenal against Sunderland
Image credit: AFP
39' – CHANCE! Ozil finds himself one on one with Pickford after outpacing Kone but the young English goalkeeper stands up and manages to stop a pretty poor finish from the edge of the area.
56' – CHANCE! Defoe breaks and tries to find Watmore, but the final poor is poor and Koscielny is across to intercept. Best chance of the game so far for Sunderland, as they were three on two.
65' – GOAL! Sunderland 1-1 Arsenal. Cech pulls down Watmore in a one-on-one and gets a yellow card, after the Sunderland youngster bundles Mustafi off the ball from Ndong's pass. Defoe sends Cech the wrong way to score his fifth goal of the season.
71' – GOAL! Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal. Giroud scores with almost his first touch, a left-foot volley from Gibbs' cross from the left following a great driving run by Sanchez.
76' – GOAL! Sunderland 1-3 Arsenal. Giroud heads home Arsenal's third at the near post from Ozil's corner. That's two goals in his five minutes for the France international,a nd seven goals in seven games against Sunderland in all competitions,
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Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)
Image credit: AFP
78' – GOAL! Sunderland 1-4 Arsenal. Sanchez nets his second goal of the game, turning Djilobodji and beating Pickford after being teed up by Ramsey following Gibbs' shot, which hit the post.
90+2' – CHANCE! Ozil picks out Sanchez, but Pickford wins the 50-50 and then Ramsey shoots the follow-up shot wide.
KEY STATS
Sunderland have not won any of the 33 games Jack Rodwell has started for them.
Jermain Defoe scored his first goal against Arsenal since 2004.
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Jermain Defoe during Sunderland's game against Arsenal
Image credit: Reuters
Olivier Giroud has scored seven times and assisted two goals in his last seven games against Sunderland in all competitions.
Arsenal are one of two unbeaten Premier League sides away from home this season, the other being North London rivals Tottenham.
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