Arsenal come from behind against Sunderland

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09 Jan 2016

By Gary Rose BSports

FA Cup holders Arsenal came from behind to record a comfortable third-round win against Premier League strugglers Sunderland at Emirates Stadium.

The visitors took a surprise lead when Jeremain Lens struck inside the box.

Arsenal equalised through Joel Campbell's half-volley, before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hit the woodwork.

Substitute Aaron Ramsey tapped in late on to put Arsenal ahead before Olivier Giroud's close-range finish wrapped up a 13th consecutive win in the FA Cup.

Reaction to Saturday's FA Cup third-round games

Wenger has his eye on the prize

Arsenal, who beat Aston Villa 4-0 in last season's final, have won the FA Cup 12 times - more than any other side.

Six of those have come under Arsene Wenger, who will become the competition's most successful manager with one more victory.

Arsenal may be top of the Premier League, but Wenger underlined his intention to take the FA Cup seriously by naming a strong side, with first-team regulars Petr Cech, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Giroud and Theo Walcott all included.

It was a decision that paid off. After Sunderland's unexpected opener, Walcott provided the assist for Arsenal's equaliser and Hector Bellerin played a key role in their next two goals as the hosts' experienced men carried them forward while the visitors' mix of fringe and youth players wilted.

A defeat, but some positives for Sunderland

Sunderland's heatmap shows how much more willing they were to attack in the first half (left) compared to the second (right)

Sunderland's priority is clear - Premier League survival - and that was reflected in Sam Allardyce's team selection, with the Black Cats showing seven changes.

After five successive defeats, Sunderland secured a morale-boosting 3-1 win against Aston Villa last time out.

They looked to have continued their momentum when they stunned Arsenal to take the lead, Lens taking advantage of some uncharacteristic hesitancy in the Gunners' defence to score.

That was only Lens' third goal in 17 appearances for Sunderland, but his overall play will have been encouraging for Black Cats fans as his pace and physical presence caused the hosts a number of problems.

He possesses the ability to be an important player for Sunderland in their battle against relegation. The question is, can he perform like he did against Arsenal on a consistent basis?

Man of the match - Hector Bellerin

Hector Bellerin provided two crucial assists, setting up Aaron Ramsey to score Arsenal's second before his ball gave Olivier Giroud a simple tap-in to make it 3-1 and give the Gunners breathing space

What they said

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: "It was a test for us to come from behind. There was a great mental response and there is a special solidarity in the team.

"You always worry because, no matter how long you are in this job, you never know what is next. The experience we had up front today helped. I am very happy overall."

Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce: "In the end they had better finishers than we had today. We were fine for 70 minutes and I am just a little sad at the goals we allowed Arsenal to score. We made it easy for them in the end.

"We move on. The squad has shown they can play at this level. Lens is strong on the ball as well as talented. Hopefully we can push on and see a bit more from him."

The stats you need to know

Arsenal have not lost an FA Cup tie in 13 games since Blackburn beat them 1-0 in February 2013 at the Emirates in the fifth round.
No manager has won the FA Cup more times than Arsene Wenger (six). His first game in the competition was against Sunderland in the third round in 1997.
Arsenal have not been defeated in the third round since losing a replay to Sheffield United 1-0 at Bramall Lane in January 1996 (W18 D5).

What next?

Arsenal travel to Liverpool in the Premier League on Wednesday, while Sunderland are at Swansea on the same day.

The FA Cup fourth-round draw takes place on Monday and is live on The One Show on BSports One from 19:00 GMT.

Lineup, Bookings (1) & Substitutions (6)

Arsenal

33 Cech
24 Bellerín
05 Gabriel Booked
06 Koscielny
03 Gibbs
15 Oxlade-Chamberlain
21 Chambers (Arteta - 67' )
28 Campbell (Reine Adelaide - 81' )
45 Iwobi (Ramsey - 67' )
14 Walcott
12 Giroud

Substitutes

02 Debuchy
08 Arteta
16 Ramsey
18 Monreal
49 Macey
54 Reine Adelaide
59 Willock

Sunderland

13 Pickford
24 Yedlin
22 Coates
16 O'Shea (Jones - 65' )
03 van Aanholt
06 Cattermole (M'Vila - 57' )
20 Toivonen
41 Watmore
17 Lens
19 Graham
26 Fletcher (Mavrias - 76' )

Substitutes

02 Jones
09 Borini
18 Defoe
21 M'Vila
25 Mannone
28 Mavrias
31 Beadling

Ref: Martin Atkinson

Att: 59,349

Match Stats

Possession 63 37

Shots

25 11

On target

13 3

Corners

11 6

Fouls

13 6

Live Text Commentary

Full time

Full Time Match ends, Arsenal 3, Sunderland 1.

90:00 +3:15 Full time

Full Time Second Half ends, Arsenal 3, Sunderland 1.

90:00 +3:09

Attempt saved. Patrick van Aanholt (Sunderland) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.

90:00 +2:35 Booking

Booking Gabriel Paulista (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

90:00 +2:17

Foul by Gabriel Paulista (Arsenal).

90:00 +2:17

Duncan Watmore (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

90:00 +0:45

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Jordan Pickford.

90:00 +0:40

Attempt saved. Jeff Reine Adelaide (Arsenal) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.