Arsenal vs Sunderland Full Match Highlights And Videos

Arsenal took care of business in their first appearance in this year’s FA Cup, sending Sunderland home 3-1. Here are the full match highlights and videos.

With tons of rotation in the works, including Theo Walcott at the No. 10 role and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at defensive midfield, Arsenal was looking rather experimental. However, the experiment paid off as Arsenal was able to take care of business.

Iwobi and Reine-Adelaide both gained a cap in the process. So let’s get on with the play-by-play of proceedings.

0′ – FA Cup Pt. 3, here we come.
3′ – Jermaine Lens fires from distance and at a rather unfavorable angle. Cech springs to action but it whips wide.
4′ – Iwobi looking particularly inspired.
6′ – Arsenal look rather sloppy, particularly in passing between defenders. That’s not good.
9′ – Giroud sets up Gibbs perfectly for a blazing shot but Pickford was not having it. Corner.
9′ – Chambers has a free header. I believe “bumble” is the proper way to describe it.
13′ – Wenger’s posture is looking superb.
16′ – GOAL. Koscielny gives the ball away to Lens. No reason for that. Partially Gibbs fault. Lens puts it away. 0-1.
19′ – Iwobi looks splendid dribbling through the Sunderland defense. Beats Pickford but Coates was ready to clean up the pieces.
22′ – Sunderland corner looks dangerous but they can’t procure a final ball.
25′ – GOAL. What a goal from Campbell. A beautiful ball into the box from Walcott and a superbly composed finish by the Costa Rican. 1-1.
27′ – Walcott takes a snap shot from deep but Pickford deflects it on the bounce.
29′ – The Ox wants a goal so bad but his shot goes well wide.
33′ – Cattermole fires his shot to Callisto, Jupiter’s fourth moon.
38′ – Confidence makes Campbell look amazing. Great pass turns to nothing.
39′ – The Ox with an inquisitive ball but Walcott just isn’t fast enough as Pickford claims it.
41′ – The Ox is again looking to fire from distance but it is blocked away.
44′ – The Ox spearheading another attack, using his strength and speed to push play forward.
44′ – Calum Chambers is slow.
45’+2′ – Arsenal had the ball in Sunderland’s box for near thirty seconds but they can’t latch onto a final ball.

HALF TIME. 1-1. Arsenal may have looked sloppy at the start but as always, a goal has poked the sleeping giant. He’s still a bit drowsy though, even after a cool, composed equalizer.

45′ – We’re back.
48′ – Dangerous free kick into the box from Campbell but Pickford punches it away.
50′ – Let’s take a brief moment to appreciate how well Campbell is playing.
54′ – Iwobi finds Campbell beautifully but Campbell’s chip is cleared away.
54′ – Iwobi fires on goal but it was never a threat.
56′ – The Ox curls one from distance but it agonizingly hits the post and Walcott can’t put the rebound on net. The Ox deserves a goal.
59′ – Header by Fletcher hits the cross bar and the wide open rebound by Watmore goes acres high.
60′ – Iwobi decides to tap another into Pickford’s arms.
60′ – The ball is sitting on a tee two feet in front of Pickford and Campbell fires it straight into the Sunderland keeper.
62′ – The Ox is so impressed by M’Vila’s flop that he applauds him.
64′ – Fletcher has another dangerous header but it goes high.
67′ – Gibbs sends a splendid ball into the box but Giroud can’t get a touch.
70′ – Gibbs plays another wonderful cross perfectly into Theo Walcott, who’s tap is incredibly, almost painfully tame. Pickford saves.
71′ – GOAL. What a team goal by Arsenal. It’s what they’ve come to typify. Campbell sends a one-two to a speeding Bellerin, who sends it in to Ramsey for the tap in. 2-1.
75′ – GOAL. Unbelievable pass from Bellerin. Perfectly weighted on the ground. Finds Giroud who puts it away. 3-1.
77′ – Giroud quite literally has both legs taken out by Yedlin in the box but no one seems to notice.
78′ – On the counter, Danny Graham is stoned by Cech.
80′ – Bellerin on the charge again but there is no one on the end of this cross.
83′ – Another splendid cross from Gibbs finds Giroud’s head but it is just tipped over by Pickford.
84′ – Ramsey with a probing ball but Giroud can’t find it.
90’+1′ – The Ox sends a nice ball into Reine-Adelaide but he needed just a touch of more pace to get on the other end.
90’+3′ – Last second free kick for Sunderland goes right into Cech’s hands.

FULL TIME. Arsenal take care of business to the tune of 3-1. Outstanding performances from Bellerin and Gibbs at fullback. Here is the in-depth summary with videos.

Arsenal was looking incredibly sloppy in their passing from the beginning and it netted Sunderland the first goal of the game via a major gaff between Gibbs and Koscielny. Observe:

It hurts the eyes. However, Arsenal was quick to snap into gear and produce a response. It came via Theo Walcott and Joel Campbell. Have a look:

Splendid. Again we see Joel Campbell looking incredibly composed on the ball to put it away for a goal.

That would be the extent of what the first half would bring us. We are right back where we started, all level at one goal a piece. Safe to say that Arsenal probably should not have surrendered the goal to Jermaine Lens but nothing we can do about that now.

The second half was all Arsenal. The Gunners were pressing hard for the win and numerous opportunities were falling by the wayside. Sunderland had a few open headers but could not put it in the net. Finally just six minutes after being introduced, Aaron Ramsey was the final piece of a beautiful team move that put Arsenal up 2-1. Enjoy:

It is exactly the kind of goal we expect from Arsenal. Not wanting to stop there, Hector Bellerin led another attack down the right flank and sent a beautiful ball into the box that rolled all the way to a waiting Giroud.

3-1 Arsenal, Giroud this time. pic.twitter.com/AUqP5E3XKe
— Terje (@TerjeGoal) January 9, 2016

Smashing. That would be the fill of the goals. Arsenal are on to the next round and they spotted Mesut Ozil a break in the process. Hard to argue with those results.