Sunderland – Arsenal

This is a big game for Arsenal after the midweek defeat to AC Milan and, given their recent bad luck, it's perhaps no surprise they're facing Sunderland when they've been playing so well

There are some team selection surprises though. Lukasz Fabianski starts for Arsenal, while Stephane Sessegnon - a link player, if anything - seems to be the lone striker for Sunderland, with Frazier Campbell on the bench

Theo Walcott is on the bench, meanwhile, as the returning Gervinho starts

Laurent Koscielny's injury means Johan Djorou starts and Francis Coquelin is at left-back

As was seen earlier today with Birmingham's five-man midfield stifling a poor Chelsea side, Martin O'Neill has gone for five men across the middle and seems to have a similar intention

Here we go, then. Arsenal kick-off...

Good start by Arsenal with Gervinho's run. Arsenal have a corner following O'Shea's challenge

Good tempo so far in this game, which you would expect from a team managed by O'Neill

Decent there from Oxlade-Chamberlain on the right wing. His cross came to nothing but it showed good intent on his part; he'll surely have had a confidence boost from starting over Walcott

Arsenal have had plenty of the ball and now have a free-kick after Van Persie was fouled by Gardner. It's shooting distance, too..

Good effort by Arteta; his curling effort beats Sunderland's wall but ultimately curls just wide

Coquelin's down in some pain at the moment. He looks set to come off; another defensive injury for Arsenal, it seems

Coquelin's limped off, and play restarts...

Corner to Sunderland after Djorou blocks McLean's cross...

Sagna's now down in pain, too...

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/subs.gif"> Coquelin off, Squillaci on

Arsenal clear

Arsenal have yet to settle back down since Coquelin's withdrawal when they'd previously looked settled

Ramsey fouls McLean, Sunderland free-kick...

...which is taken quickly and Sessegnon fires wide!

Ramsey's now down in some pain...

Ramsey's back on but he's still in some obvious discomfort. It's still 0-0 but it's been a disastrous start to the game for Arsenal

And now Alex Song is down in discomfort! It's getting a bit comical now...

Vermaelen defending well there from Larsson with the Swedish winger pressuring and chasing the loose ball

Arsenal's composure has gone and they're struggling to get out of their own half. It has to be pointed out that the conditions aren't as they'd wish, though

That's better from Arsenal; they're now playing more patiently and appear to be thinking more

Well collected there by Fabianski; the 'keeper dived low to save McLean's low cross with Sessegnon waiting to convert it into a goal

Sunderland's intent is obvious; they're pressing Arsenal all over the pitch and won't let them settle. Clearly they're trying to expose Arsenal's vulnerabilities which makes sense given the obvious lack of confidence

Good effort from Arsenal; that's the closest anyone's yet got to scoring

Gervinho, through on goal, unleashed a powerful, goalbound shot that was saved by Mignolet. Arsenal corner...

...it comes to nothing and Sunderland counter...

...and win a corner of their own. But it also comes to nothing after Larsson's curling cross just evades everyone. Arsenal goal-kick

Better action in the game now after a scrappy opening, largely because of a crowded midfield

Close penalty shout there for Arsenal!

Possibly should have been a penalty after O'Shea's challenge but Howard Webb decided against it. To be fair, there have been many more controversial decisions

A familiar pattern is repeating itself here: Arsenal string together several passes together in midfield before Sunderland crowd them out and recover the ball before making little of possession themselves...

Very little space for Ramsey, Song or Arteta to provide the necessary passes for Arsenal's front three

O'Neill really is doing brilliantly at Sunderland. Even putting their good run to one side, he's getting the most out of his side today; less talented individuals like Bardsley, Turner and Golback are being used to unsettle Arsenal and stop them playing and the tactics are working

There's lots of Arsenal playing the ball from side to side without any real progress being made

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/yellow_card.jpg" height="15"> Djorou booked for fouling Larsson

Free-kick to Sunderland in a dangerous area

Chance for Larsson to cross into the box...

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/goal.gif"> <b>GOAL</b> Sunderland 1-0 Arsenal! Richardson scores for the home side!

Vermaelen headed Larsson's free-kick into Richardson's path who had the space to connect brilliantly with the ball and fire a left-footed shot through the defence and past Fabianski.

The ball took a deflection off of Squillaci but Djourou's to blame; he was the one who unnecessarily conceded the free-kick

Close again by Sunderland with a good counter attack! Colback cut Larsson's cross back towards McLean but the winger poked the ball just wide. Could have been a second goal, that

Two minutes of added time to be played, which is about right

Arsenal desperately need to get to half-time to regroup, but Sunderland have all of the momentum and won't want this to end

<b>Half-time: Sunderland 1-0 Arsenal</b>

In what was a scrappy, yet lively, half of football, Sunderland deserve to be in front. Arsenal need to regain some composure and start playing as they're capable of doing so. That said, a big fear for them in the second half is Sunderland's potential as a counter-attacking side

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The teams are back out for the second-half...

Sunderland kick-off...

It's very early indeed but it's already looking bad for Arsenal. No, not the Djourou-Squillaci axis at the back; Oxlade-Chamberlain's touch has evaded him and he's given the ball away

Sagna with a blatant foul on McLean! Very good scoring chance for Sunderland, it's shooting range

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/yellow_card.jpg" height="15"> Sagna booked for the foul

Good effort from Larsson but he's curled the ball just over the top left corner. Nice idea

Better from Arsenal; more composure there (at last)

A suitable final ball is missing, as is some aggression but Arsenal look a bit more comfortable now

Of course, there's also the possibility that Sunderland could tire if they continue to press and play with such pace

Rosicky's getting ready to come on...

...as is Theo Walcott

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/subs.gif"> Ramsey off, Rosicky on

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/subs.gif"> Squillaci off, Walcott on

Both players looked to have been carrying injuries, so that's all three subs used by Arsenal

...and a third central defensive partnership

Free-kick to Sunderland near the corner spot. ONce again, it's a good opportunity to cross

Turner heads over, however. Arsenal goal-kick

Oxlade-Chamberlain again gives the ball away! This really is sloppy stuff from the Londoners

It's during fixtures like this where Arsenal's need for a target man becomes more obvious

When they're at the Emirates and the football suits them it's fine, but here Sunderland are happy for them to take the ball wide and cross for the ball because they know they'll continue to win the aerial battles

There's lots of Arsenal playing the ball from side to side but without any real progress made

Arsenal free-kick, Van Persie to take...

His shot is deflected wide for a corner but the striker will also take that...

Which Mignolet has collected. The moment has passed now for Arsenal

Sunderland now countering down the right, with Larsson

Those three have been crucial for Sunderland today. While their three central midfielders have worked hard to stifle Arsenal, Larsson, Sessegnon and McLean have provided their attacking threat.

...they've also worked extremely hard; both the wingers are tracking back, while Sessegnon is pressuring the back four

Gardner shoots harmlessly wide for Sunderland!

That was a rare moment of action in what has been a dull, scrappy match

Richardson did exceptionally well then to prevent a corner. Throw-in to Arsenal, deep into Sunderland's half

Poor cross from Gervinho - the ball goes straight out for a goal-kick

Vermaelen heads at Mignolet! Decent save by the 'keeper. Seems like the only sort of goal they're likely to score

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/goal.gif"> <b>GOAL</b> Sunderland 2-0 Arsenal! Oxlade-Chamberlain own goal!

Sunderland hit Arsenal on the counter and Oxlade-Chamberlain, who did very well to chase back, was just unfortunate in that the ball hit him after coming off the post and trickled over the line for Sunderland's second (most likely the winning goal)

Free-kick to Sunderland after Sagna's foul. He's probably lucky to still be on the pitch after that, as he already has a yellow card

Larsson's free-kick is cleared by Song, which was crucial because Fabianski was well out of position there

Walcott caught offside after Oxlade-Chamberlain's through-ball

Probably the wrong decision, Walcott looked onside, but the lack of complaint is perhaps telling

Nice pass there by Rosicky but Van Persie practically tripped over the ball; truly emblematic of Arsenal's afternoon

Could have been a goal, that

Arsenal have a corner after Turner heads clear

<img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/gp10/i/subs.gif"> Sessegnon on, Campbell on

More misplaced passing from Arsenal. This really has been a disastrous afternoon for them

Three minutes of added time to be played...

Arteta fires over. This must be increasingly painful for an Arsenal fan to watch. Full-time cannot come soon enough

Van Persie's free-kick is straight at Sunderland's wall. They could have another 100 of those free-kicks but they still wouldn't score today.

<b>Full-time: Sunderland 2-0 Arsenal</b>

A poor game to watch, to be honest.

It extends Martin O'Neill's superb start at Sunderland as well as Arsenal's woes. It's also a result that perhaps makes Liverpool favourites for the FA Cup

In reality, this week leaves Arsenal with nothing but the league to focus on, so they really need to make sure they reach the top four. They'll really hope Chelsea's struggles continue