Ramsey replaced Cesc Fabregas in the team, he ghosted into many goal scoring positions but lacked the composure to finish time and time again. Hi Aaron Ramsey, meet confidence and development. Ten minutes later it was Ramsey once more who got on the end of a sweeping move to slide the ball between the keepers legs and into the net. Ramsey’s 5th goal in 6 Arsenal games this season. Long may that continue I say. Unfortunately it was not all plain sailing for us though, we should have been comfortable at half time but that is not a problem because Walcott will score goals even if he is going through a slight sticky patch. What was an issue was us shooting ourselves in the foot. Regular readers of this blog will know how much I love Laurent Koscielny, one of the best centre back’s in the league for me without a doubt but he really has to learn when he should attempt to go for a tackle in the box and when not to. We’ve seen so many fantastic last ditch stretching tackles that we almost take it for granted but whether Johnson dived or not, there was no need to take the risk. Johnson was heading away from the goal on his weaker side, Gibbs

Arsenal were unfortunate not to be out of sight at half time
Arsenal were fortunate not to concede an equaliser at 2-1
Arsenal were fortunate that Aaron Ramsey has the quality and character to win the game.

Typical of an Arsenal game of old, well without the last minute Darren Bent equaliser of course. Such is the nature of Premier League matches these days, they are just so difficult to predict.

While there were a few ups and downs to discuss, I want to focus on the first 45 minutes first because I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. I wondered how new boy Mesut Özil would fit into our style of play and the pace of the Premier League. My first impression was that it all looked pretty easy for him, well at least when we were in possession of the ball. His decision making is exceptional and his ability to find space in the final third gave those around him many options. Another observation was how often those around him looked to him as much as possible. It also explains the stat going around that Özil made the most amount of completed passes in the final third in the Premier League yesterday even though he was substituted in the second half.

Özil had a hand in 5 of Arsenal’s 8 shots in the first-half: 2 shots & 3 final balls (incl. assist).

— David Wall (@1DavidWall) September 14, 2013

But what we all wanted to see was his ability to play the final pass, that was why we paid such a large fee to Real Madrid for his services. We didn’t have to wait long to see what he could do. 11 minutes into his debut he pulled down a long pass with ease, glanced up to his right and played a ball across the box into the stride of Giroud to side foot in for the opening goal.

The Özil and Walcott partnership was the obvious combination to look out for when he signed and the two combined just as we hoped. If the Theo Walcott of last season was on the pitch then Mesut Özil may have been walking off the pitch at half time with 3 assists to his name.

The weight and timing of his passing is exemplary and I really hope his craft in unlocking defences can rub off on Jack Wilshere who was superb yesterday playing in an unfamiliar role, starting off on the left but with licence to roam inside as he pleased. His touches, drives forward and combination play with his midfield team mates were superb but as has been the case for a while his final pass is often over hit. Hopefully that will come with games.

The rotation of the midfield was a joy to behold. Fulham’s Martin Jol had already spoken about how difficult it was to pick them up and with the addition of Özil we can only improve in that area. It is a crying shame that Santi Cazorla has been ruled out for a month, big thanks to Spain for yet more pointless International friendlies. Friendlies that they wheel out the likes of Santi just to protect the likes of Iniesta for the important games. As much as I was looking forward to watching Mesut, I was looking forward to his combination with Cazorla even more.

But it is ok, we have Aaron Rambo Ramsey. You know the fella, the guy who holds onto the ball for too long and slows everything down. The guy who shoots wildly when in great positions. The guy who is simply not good enough for Arsenal FC. I’d hope that lessons have been learnt when it comes to young player development but I won’t hold my breath.

I’ve got my fair share of player predictions wrong though, I thought David Bentley would shine as an Arsenal player following his left footed chip against Middlesbrough at Highbury, I also thought that Jay Emmanuel-Thomas would be a top Arsenal player. While we should be aware that gifted teenagers do not always make the grade when it looks very possible, I think it is more important not to write off youngsters who are not complete at 21, even more so when they have had a year out of the game with a broken leg. I hope we use our Ramsey experience when judging someone like Sanogo so quickly.

His run at the end of the season showed that he was on the way up and because of that, I was convinced that Arsene would not buy anyone to replace him in the side. There was something different about Aaron Ramsey very early on in pre season. On the 22nd July I wrote the following..

His upwards trajectory has been one of the big highlights since the end of last season and long may that continue. Ever since a raw 17 year old pulled on an Arsenal shirt at Barnet during a pre season game you could see he was made of the right stuff. He demanded the ball from senior players and was not shy about doing so. I am pretty sure his character was a large reason as to why Arsene bought him.

At 1-1 Carl Jenkinson had the ball on the right flank, Jack Wilshere was screaming for the ball but so to was Aaron Ramsey, point at where he wanted the ball. One of Jenkinson’s better crosses of the game landed perfectly to Ramsey who controlled his volley perfectly, head over the ball and hard and low past the impressive Sunderland keeper.

A couple of seasons ago when Ramsey replaced Cesc Fabregas in the team, he ghosted into many goal scoring positions but lacked the composure to finish time and time again. Hi Aaron Ramsey, meet confidence and development. Ten minutes later it was Ramsey once more who got on the end of a sweeping move to slide the ball between the keepers legs and into the net. Ramsey’s 5th goal in 6 Arsenal games this season. Long may that continue I say.

Unfortunately it was not all plain sailing for us though, we should have been comfortable at half time but that is not a problem because Walcott will score goals even if he is going through a slight sticky patch. What was an issue was us shooting ourselves in the foot. Regular readers of this blog will know how much I love Laurent Koscielny, one of the best centre back’s in the league for me without a doubt but he really has to learn when he should attempt to go for a tackle in the box and when not to. We’ve seen so many fantastic last ditch stretching tackles that we almost take it for granted but whether Johnson dived or not, there was no need to take the risk. Johnson was heading away from the goal on his weaker side, Gibbs was also on the cover. Danger was limited but Koscielny went to ground when standing his ground was the correct decision. What you don’t want to do is remove Koscielny’s combative style but he needs to improve his decision making. The good news is that at least we did not suffer for the error, hopefully he will now learn from this. Much better to learn without costing the team.

At 1-1 Sunderland understandably had the wind in their sails but a slight concern may well be what Özil contributes when we are under a bit of pressure. I will put that aside for now as it is his first game for us in a new league but also because he was ill. On first glance though, he is no Rosicky when it comes to defending high up the pitch. Arsene switched Wilshere and Özil to protect the middle of the pitch because of this reason.

Oliver Giroud had a fantastic game yesterday and we can collectively exhale as we find out that his knee problem was only minor. His goal was very well taken and he also made the assist for Ramsey. Giroud also played one first time flick through to Walcott who hit the keeper from close range. Giroud’s link up play and work for the team has never been in question, it was his finishing. Since pre season his finishing has been nothing short of world class, whatever the definition of that is.

We gave away too much defensively and Sunderland had plenty opportunities to score but I shall not worry just yet, we have been defensively strong for some time now, at least statistically.

Sunderland were robbed big time in the second half. If it was Arsenal I would be banging on my keyboard today so it is only fair that I call it how it is. They should have been given either a goal or Sagna a red card. They got neither and it went in our favour. Still the refereeing performance was not a patch on Anthony Taylor that’s for sure. What I would say on the Sagna vs Altidore tussle is that it looked like both gave as good as they got. It is difficult to see who started the pulling. What is a slight concern is that Sagna has lost that type of battle twice now. Once against Fenerbache at home and yesterday.

Jozy Altidore looks a very powerful guy, would have loved to have witnessed a Altidore vs Sol Campbell battle in his prime.

But I am left wanting more of that first 45 minutes. The potential there is mooosive!! Add distributing king Mikel Arteta and magical Santi Cazorla to that and wow we could have the most creative team since the invincibles. A big call I know but I think the potential is that big. Time will tell if it is put into practice.

I hope we can get through the next few months without anymore injuries. We may be light in striker but imagine we add Arteta, Cazorla, Rosicky, Podolski and Chamberlain to the match day squad that gives us incredibly strong options. That is not even having the guts to include Diaby. But currently we are thin so fingers crossed that the injury room doors only swing outwards for the next few weeks at least.

Three more points in the bag and we are toppa da league, say we are toppa the league etc. Far to early to truly be singing it but it’s been a while so I will roll around in it for now.

Next up Champions League.