Arsenal vs Sunderland: Recap, highlights and analysis

Arsenal’s improbable chase for the Champions League continues after their conclusive win over Sunderland. Here is the full match recap and analysis.

Arsenal came back to the Emirates to face already-relegated Sunderland while knowing that nothing other than a resounding victory would do. Despite Sunderland’s “pathetic” display against Swansea City over the weekend, the Black Cats held tough early on against the Gunners, mainly just because Arsenal kept spurning their chances.

That was what the first half was all about. The fellows in red were clicking in the build-up, they were creating great chances, but they weren’t taking them.

The first came from Olivier Giroud. Receiving a perfect pass from Aaron Ramsey, the Frenchman chopped a shot off his left foot that was ticketed for the back of the net, but Jordan Pickford made his first of many fantastic saves.

That was soon followed by a snap snot by Alexis Sanchez from outside the box that found the back of the net, however the celebrations were short lived, as it was clear that the ball struck an accidental Giroud hand before ricocheting in.

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There were several cries for penalty from Giroud as well, as he was bear hugged by Lamine Kone, as well as being clipped down by him later, but nothing was given.

The next truly great chance came with Hector Bellerin receiving a perfect pass from Mesut Ozil and he was in the clear with his speed. However, he kept dallying and delaying, unwilling to make a decision. Ignoring a charging Alexis and a deeper Ramsey, Bellerin finally fired far too late and into the side netting.

Several minutes later, Ozil and Ramsey had a pleasant exchange at the near post and the Welshman put a fantastic final touch on it, aimed at the top corner, but Pickford made another fantastic save.

On the following corner, Rob Holding found himself the unlikely recipient of a wide open header, which perhaps startled him because he headed it straight into the grateful grasp of Pickford.

Going into half, the Gunners had 18 shots to Sunderland’s two, but the score read 0-0.

The second half was one hell of a nervy affair to start. Nothing like you’d have expected. An illegal back pass put the Gunners in a precarious situation but the Black Cats couldn’t make the most of it.

The breakthrough seemed just out of reach until the 70th minute, when a beautiful pass from Granit Xhaka found a free Ozil, who tapped the ball over to Alexis for the easiest goal he will ever score. It felt like a weight was lifted off of the Emirates. Have a look:

Can’t do it any better. But it wouldn’t stop there, as you can imagine. After a fantastic header by Giroud was met by a fantastic save (again!) by Pickford, Alexis was there to pick up the pieces. Here it is:

It was a free for all at this point.

Arsenal would have plenty of more chances, but Pickford would have plenty of more saves. He had one of the best games you’ll ever see from a keeper, stonewalling the Gunners with double-digit saves.

Next: Arsenal's 30 Greatest Players Ever

While the match might have been excessively frustrating, it keeps the Gunners in a position of hope. They just need to have Liverpool drop points against Middlesbrough while taking care of business against Everton.