Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal: Player Ratings
Arsenal dropped points once again as the race for top four heats up. The Gunners needed a win to leapfrog Manchester City into third position, but Arsene Wenger’s side fired blanks at the Stadium of Light against relegation-threatened Sunderland.
Sam Allardyce’s side secured a crucial point in their bid to stay in the top-flight and have now moved clear of the relegation zone courtesy of a better goal difference than Norwich City, who are also on 31 points from 34 games.
Here are the player ratings for the match.
Sunderland
Vito Mannone – 7.5/10
The former Arsenal shot-stopper kept his side in the game with some superb saves. The Italian did brilliantly to keep out Alexis Sanchez’s free-kick.
DeAndre Yedlin – 6/10
Yedlin produced some vital blocks during the game and kept the electric Alexis Sanchez at bay. However, the full-back was lucky not to concede a penalty in the first-half when Alex Iwobi’s close range shot ricocheted off his arm.
Younes Kaboul – 6.5/10
Kept the Arsenal attackers at bay for most of the game, but was almost punished by Walcott in the closing stages as he failed to judge a long ball correctly.
Lamine Kone – 6.5/10
The Ivory Coast international had a good game and was able to keep Olivier Giroud quiet for most of the game.
Patrick van Aanholt – 6/10
A solid game from the Dutch international on the left-hand side of defence. The 25-year-old was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet when his header cannoned off the crossbar with Petr Cech rooted to his spot.
Yann M’Vila – 5/10
M’Vila was heavily linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium a few years ago, but the Frenchman didn’t have the best of game against the Gunners. Although he worked hard for his team, but the 25-year-old failed to influence the game.
Jan Kirchhoff – 7/10
The January signing from Bayern Munich had a superb game in the defensive midfield position. The German shielded his back four efficiently and broke up Arsenal attacks at will. Was replaced by Larsson in the 78th minute.
Lee Cattermole – 5/10
The Black Cats captain had a decent game in midfield, but couldn’t dominate from the middle of the park against a more technical Arsenal midfield.
Fabio Borini – 5/10
The former Liverpool man worked hard and caused some trouble to the Arsenal defence with his movement, but could not influence the game as he would have liked. Not his best performance in a Sunderland shirt. Replaced by Watmore in the 74th minute.
Wahbi Khazri – 6/10
The 25-year-old January signing from Bordeaux worked relentlessly during the game and put some good crosses into the box. The winger was booked in the dying minutes of the game for a poor challenge on Jack Wilshere.
Jermain Defoe – 6.5/10
Was Sunderland’s biggest goal threat, and came close to breaking the deadlock on a few occasions, only to be denied by some excellent saves from Petr Cech. Defoe was unlucky not to be awarded a penalty in the first-half when his shot from close range struck Per Mertesacker on the hand.
Substitutes:
Duncan Watmore – N/A
Watmore replaced Borini in the 74th minute and brought energy to Allardyce’s side as Sunderland looked to hang on to the draw.
Sebastian Larsson – N/A
The former Arsenal player came on in the 78th minute and didn’t have much impact on the game.