Olivier Giroud made amends for a first-half own goal as Arsenal beat struggling Sunderland 3-1 on Saturday to move up to second place in the Premier League table.
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“It was a very important game for us tonight because we came out of three disappointing results”, Wenger told a post-match press conference.
Mesut Ozil is definitely the star of our season and he will be the reason we win the title.
Even after Giroud scored at the right end with a well-placed header midway through the second half, Sunderland still looked capable of getting a draw before Aaron Ramsey sealed the win in the last minute. Personally for me this season has been really good with the number of assists that I have, but the most important thing is that we play well as a team and we have to try our best to stay at the top.
Giroud, though, had a point to prove and with 65 minutes gone, from the same patch of grass from where he’d scored the own goal, Arsenal’s centre-forward put them ahead with a neat, headed finish made by Ramsey’s cross.
Joel Campbell was on the end of his time at Arsenal, but the injuries have given him a chance of showing what he can do.
Arsene Wenger admits he was furious after Arsenal conceded an equaliser against Sunderland as his side had set out not to give away free kicks.
Allardyce believed he saw enough from his players to have warranted a third straight win.
“We didn’t get in front like we should have done; when you create an opportunity against Arsenal you need to take it”, Allardyce said after the final whistle. The visitors played well in defense, crushing down Arsenal’s attacks in the first half.
Cech needed to make another good save to keep out Steven Fletcher’s close-range effort from Ola Toivonen’s flick-on after a corner. “We could have won, never mind a draw”, he said. I think we have got goalscorers. If they score a goal then we have to score three goals, but we know that we can score goals. I’ve never been here with a team and created as many chances as today but we’ve still lost 3-1. “All was not flawless of course, but the team have shown mental strength after a goal before halftime”.
“The lads that stepped in and gave the best performance since I have been here”.
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Wenger now takes his side to Olympiakos for Wednesday’s Champions league eliminator, and both Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott continued their comebacks from injury with time on the pitch against Sunderland.
