Black cats claw back a well-deserved point

Sunderlands spirited second half comeback at Highbury today demonstrated why they are genuine contenders for a place in Europe this season. Simultaneously this game of two halves highlighted the frailties and inconsistency of an Arsenal side that can be, on the one hand, breathtaking in attack, then exasperating when put under pressure. For the neutral this was a thrilling spectacle in which the balance and control of the game swung from Arsenal to Sunderland. Less thrilling for Wenger is the prospect of solving the conundrum of why Arsenal capitulated so easily after dominating the first half completely.

The answer can partially be found in the finishing: This contest should have been over in the first 20-30 minutes, but KANU, Henry, Ljungberg and Pires were all guilty of spurning, (or was it spooning?) at least two gifted opportunities in front of goal apiece. Despite this we got the perfect start, after just five minutes, from another headed goal by Patrick Vieira (his third in four games) who muscled out two Sunderland defenders, to meet Pires corner. Unbelievably it was Lee Dixon's composed finish that doubled our score to show our attack what we were in the penalty area for. Going in at half time Sunderland must have been shell-shocked, or at least well aware that they had been let off the hook - and only 2-0 down it could have easily been 8-0.

Peter Reid, in his own inimitable way, must have been able to convince his team that their luck was in, as they went in like battle weary tabbies, and came out scrapping like tigers. In midfield Rae, McCann, Hutchison and Schwartz found another gear and began to dominate possession. Varga who had looked completely lost in the first half had somehow been transformed into a rock at centre back alongside Craddock. After ten minutes Sunderland were back in the game courtesy of a dodgy penalty decision by Barber ruling that Viera had handled the ball. Kevin Phillips made sure that it went in, after missing his last penalty against Bradford earlier in the week. After that the legs, hearts and minds of the Arsenal contingent seemed to go as did the belly for the fight and the Sunderland equaliser was inevitable. The unlikely dispossession of Viera twice in the course of a scrappy Sunderland attack, combined with an element of luck on the part of Gavin McCann culminated in the equaliser. To be fair McCann was going for glory, but positioned outside the area, with his back to goal, he needed to be very fortunate to bend a first-time shot, on the turn, into the top corner of Manningers net and he was!

With seven minutes to go Kevin Phillips, who just gets better and better, nearly won it for them, but that would have been a harsh result - and undeserved. This isnt the first time a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal has let us down. We have allowed too many sides to get back into games when we should have been hammering out Rugby scores. Similarly in the Champions League we crumbled when Bayern Munich pulled one back after going 2-0 ahead. And in the Premiership we have had lucky escapes after going 2-0 ahead against Coventry, West Ham and arguably Leicester City last week. Whether it is nervousness to take responsibility when the pressure is on, or a personnel issue to be remedied in the transfer market, it needs to be addressed quickly. Our inability to make up ground on the league leaders when they drop points themselves is mind-boggling. And any more talk about a championship challenge is farcical for now!

Arsenal: Manninger; Adams, Dixon, Grimandi, Silvinho, Stepanovs; Ljungberg, Pires, Vieira; Henry (Tomas) and Kanu (Parlour).
Sunderland: Sorensen; Craddock, Gray, Makin, Varga; Hutchison, McCann, Rae, Schwarz; Phillips and Quinn (Dichio).
Referee: G. Barber