A stoppage time penalty from Santi Cazorla was the difference between the two sides in what was a tightly fought contest at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
It was the visitors who struck first with Petr Cech saving a Dusan Tadić free kick onto the crossbar, only for the ball to cruelly rebound off and then deflect into the net off the goalkeeper’s back.
Birthday boy Laurent Koscielny managed to restore parity with a superb overhead bicycle kick soon afterwards to see the sides level at the break.
In the final minutes of the game, Saints captain José Fonte was adjudged to have brought down Olivier Giroud with Robert Maddley pointing to the spot. Cazorla took the penalty, with the Spanish midfielder securing the win with just his side’s second shot on target for the day.
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Mustafi solid, Pérez lacklustre
Arsène Wenger gave starts to two of his new signings with Shkodran Mustafi slotting into the centre of defence while Lucas Pérez led the line.
It was a solid 90 minute performance from the German in defence, partnering well with Koscielny. The man who joined from Valencia was guilty of giving away the ball sloppily on a few occasions but looked more comfortable defensively.
Pérez, on the other hand, seemed much a passenger in the Gunners team, not managing to make himself part of the attack until the second half. The Spaniard struggled to become involved in the play throughout the first period and only registered a single shot during his time on the park.
The striker, who made the move from Deportivo in the summer, looked a little brighter in the second half but was withdrawn in the 63rd minute without any notable impact on proceedings.
Saints remain winless
Pressure is beginning to mount on new Saints manager Claude Puel, with the team yet to secure a win in the 2016-17 season. With two draws and two losses from the opening four games, the South Coast club could slip as low as 19th at the end of this round should Sunderland manage at least a draw against Everton.
Performance does not seem all together lacking, yet the team has not managed to secure victory under the French coach’s tutelage. Adopting a different lineup to his predecessor, Puel has so far been unable to yield results from his tweak in tactics.
The manager will be hoping to show better results in the team’s Europa League venture, which opens on Thursday against Czech outfit Sparta Praha.
With last year’s UEL campaign ending in relative disaster after being knocked out by minnows FC Midtjylland, the new man in charge has a great opportunity to impress in European competition.
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