Arsene Wenger had suffered a depressing evening here on Tuesday as his side valiantly fell 2-0 against Bayern Munich in the Champions League round of 16 first leg. The game turned on a crucial missed Mesut Ozil penalty, the German was clearly tired and low on confidence on Tuesday, so I was glad he was rested for the game on Saturday and Tomas Rosicky given the chance to show his quality. Kieran Gibbs was also missing from Tuesday's starting line-up injured and Yaya Sanogo was given a rest after his exertions and highly profiled Olivier Giroud. Giroud has been due a rest, but the media attention he's received recently hasn't helped his rest period. It's been pictured that Giroud was with a model in the morning before Arsenal's meeting with Crystal Palace, the married Frenchman has been accused of adultery but denies it and vows to earn the respect of fans, family and friends back with performances on the pitch. So when he was recalled I was very happy, Giroud is a player I will always like and back, I believe he has talent and would not have French Ligue 1 winners medal and be a French international for nothing. He has played so much football this season and I not used to this amount of games and with Rio in the summer, he needs to prove his quality from now till May. But today was all about Dennis Bergkhamp. The legend who played for Arsenal from 1998 to 2006 was immortalised before the game as his statue was unveiled to go with the living legends Tony Adams and Thierry Henry. Bergkhamp unveiled it himself and was rather pleased with the accuracy of the statue and himself, with the chosen pose being a leap to control the ball against Newcastle United, epitomising the class and elegancy of the Dutchman. Bergkhamp greeted the Emirates crowd at half time to a rapturous greeting from both home and away fans. Bergkhamp spoke of many things:
The statue, "I believe the most important thing is the first touch, it's important for your development as without a good first touch you cannot improve in other aspects, it allows you to do more things with the ball and become a better player, I'm honoured to be recognised as part of this great clubs history."
Role at Ajax, "I'm currently an assistant coach and learning my trade, some of the players over there are very good, maybe they could play here some day! I enjoy working over there and love working with the young players helping them improve."
Arsenal, "I do not need to say much as I think it's obvious, I love this club and is my dream to come back and work here some day as a coach. I love this club and will always remember the great players and good times I had here."
It was great to see him, now for the current crop. A Sunderland without Wes Brown looked very poor and especially Santiago Vergini. A signing in January made himself look like a amateur footballer with some of the stuff he was doing. We never looked out of control in the game, within six minutes Giroud got a well needed goal after good work from Jack Wilshere and a helping hand from Vergini. A driving run from Jack was stopped briefly by Vergini, but his tackle carried the ball to Giroud who cooly slid it past Vito Mannone. The former Arsenal keeper was well received by the home fans and I was glad to see him in good form this season after frustrating times at Arsenal, he had always shown promise. Giroud then received another Vergini assist as he made a blind pass to Mannone, sold him short and it was brilliantly finished by Giroud who slotted it between the legs of Mannone. It was proving to be a very good day for Giroud who then played a part in certainly Arsenal's goal of the season, a superb sweeping one-touch move as Rosicky found Cazorla who in turn played it to Wilshere, Rosicky then Giroud, through to Rosicky and a elegant chip over Vito, a wonderful moment to witness. Arsenal were unstoppable and looking irresistible, this team is full of team spirit and is definitely the underdog of the title race.
The second half was less of a spectacle, Arsenal were not at the same high tempo, Sunderland were happy to play the ball around with a lot of the ball being seen by Liam Bridcutt. The young midfielder from Brighton looked very calm, composed and assured on the ball, a very good talent. However, Vergini again was the centre of just awful football, a cross from Monreal was sliced just past his own post by Vergini. The following corner was deliciously centred by Cazorla as Koscielny had all the time in the world to pick his spot and find it as Phil Bardsley seemed to forget about marking. Sunderland were still well below par as Gus Poyet was giving players a chance to prove their places ahead of the final against Manchester City next week, Vergini certainly couldn't prove his worth. Sunderland though did get a consolation, a good punch from Woijiech Szczesny reached Emmanuele Giaccherini who brilliantly lashed the ball past the Pole, certainly showing his quality off the bench. It finished 4-1, a great performance, a convincing win and some wonderful football, don't write us off yet.
The Rest
Chelsea 1-0 Everton: It was gritty and less than convincing, but Mourinho's men showed their resilience and determination to break down a stout Everton team who fell to a typical Frank Lampard free kick which was parried in by Tim Howard. It could've gone either way and both had chances but John Terry's pressure and Lampard's dipping strike did it.
Liverpool 4-3 Swansea: A game which for some reason was not on TV, ended up being a thriller. Another double for man in form Daniel Sturridge, 31 in 39 Liverpool games. Old scouse man Jonjo Shelvey bent in a wonder strike making it 2-1, when Wilfried Bony matched Sturridge's double and a Jordan Henderson strike set it up at 3-3 after 60 minutes. Then a fortuitous Henderson rebound ended being the crucial goal for Liverpool, whilst Mr. Luis Suarez's goal drought continues, only 5 games without a goal now.
Results
Cardiff 0-4 Hull
Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester United
Mancheste City 1-0 Stoke
Newcastle 1-0 Aston Villa
Norwich 1-0 Spurs
West Brom 1-1 Fulham
West Ham 3-1 Southampton
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