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- Written by Shane Thomas
After the exhaustion the Arsenal players would have felt on Wednesday night, this was the ideal way for the Gunners to respond.
A soporific Sunderland gave Arsenal the chance to seize control of the match. An invitation they gleefully accepted, as Arsenal cruised to a comfortable 4-1 win.
Wojciech Szczesny - 7 – Had little to do in the first-half, but made a couple of useful saves in the second. Could do little with Emmanuel Giaccherini's goal, although his punch from the free-kick that led to the goal wasn't the best.
Bacary Sagna – 8 – Sagna was a formidable presence down the right, allowing Tomas Rosicky the freedom to drift inwards, while also defending solidly. He continued to defend ably when having to cover at both left-back and centre-half.
Per Mertesacker – 7 – He controlled his back four well, not allowing the defensive line to be too high, or too deep. Also made some important covering tackles when Sunderland stepped up their game in the second-half.
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- Written by Chris Collins
It ceased to be a fair fight at 8.22pm, when Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli brandished a red card in the direction of Szczesny for his rash and ill-judged challenge on Arjen Robben. Until then, both combatants had attacked one another for 37 pulsating minutes in an even contest played with vigour and verve; but like a boxing match stopped due to a cut, we will be left to imagine what might have been.
Many wondered aloud whether Arsene Wenger might elect to sit back against a team of the calibre of Bayern.
Instead he did the opposite.
He sent Arsenal out to to press high up the pitch and for ten promise-laden minutes Oxlade Chamberlain bulldozed his way around the pitch, while Wilshere imposed a sense of purpose on proceedings, dominating his illustrious midfield opponents. Sagna surged forward and Cazorla looked busy and threatening. Unfortunately this state of affairs would not continue for long, though it may have been prolonged had Ozil demonstrated even an ounce of self-belief from twelve yards out.
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- Written by Theo Andrew
When much of the talk before the game was how this Arsenal side has grown since this corresponding fixture last year, it would be hard to argue that they let anyone down against a relentless Bayern Munich. A focused and determined and in many ways an impressive team performance for Wenger’s men, despite the final result.
Pinned back greatly under intense Bayern pressure in the second half, there was a keen desire not to let the tie get away from them where perhaps previously this would have been a rout. A relatively even affair until the sending off, it become a story of could have beens as the Gunners could have conceivably been 2-0 at this point.
Player Ratings
Wojciech Szczęsny - 5 - Shown a red card that given the rules is hard to argue against, the type of decision that had potential to destroy the tie for the Gunners. It was a shame considering his strong start, commanding well and an excellent save from the lethal right foot of Kroos.
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- Written by Shane Thomas
I confess I went into this game extremely worried. The FA Cup remains Arsenal's best chance of winning a trophy, and a weakened starting XI, combined with an in-form Liverpool, who gave us a hammering 8 days ago didn't bode well.
So it's to the extreme credit of the players that a dogged Arsenal won 2-1 to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Lukasz Fabianski - 8 – While I don't advocate dropping Wojciech Szczesny, Fabianski showed how unlucky he is not to be a regular in the Arsenal team. One late error aside, he was outstanding, making key saves from both Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez. You can track Arsenal's second goal back to Fabianski's aforementioned save from Suarez.
Carl Jenkinson – 7 – Normally Jenkinson's strength is his attacking and crossing ability, while he can be suspect defensively. However, today Jenkinson barely got forward, and had a nip & tuck tussle with Raheem Sterling, which probably ended about even.
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- Written by Liam Moyles
After the disastrous performance against Liverpool, Arsenal really needed to get back to winning ways. At this stage of the season, and especially with the upcoming fixtures, momentum is everything. Despite losing 5-1 at Anfield, a win would put the Gooners back at the summit of English football.
Szczesny – 8/10 – Two fantastic saves to twice deny that Dutch fella. Did not have much to do, but he kept us in the game during important moments
Sagna – 8/10 – A brilliant performance from a player who sadly is looking more and more likely to leave at the end of the season. Defensively solid and gave us width when we really needed it.
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