Player Ratings: Sunderland 2-0 Arsenal

Craig Gordon was here as a spectator and must realize his Sunderland days are numbered because his Belgian colleague is a formidable last line of defense and pulled off a fine save to deny Gervinho.

He may no longer be captain now Lee Cattermole is back in action, but he still led by example at the heart of the Sunderland defense.

The arrival of Wayne Bridge seems to have brought the best out of the left-back who tamed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and struck a fine opening goal to put his team in command.

He is not the most stylish of center backs but he was certainly the sort of player that Arsenal could do thanks to his no-nonsense style.

The aggressive Scotland international brings a bite to defending that Arsenal could do with.

He is best known as a goal scorer but the midfielder showed that he is no one-trick pony with a display that put the emphasis on work rate.

He seldom wasted possession and closed down his opponents as if his life depended on it and was always a willing outlet.

The Irishman seems to get better by the game and gave Sagna a torrid time with his powerful running and willingness to take on his marker.

He might not be up to much in open play but he remains a constant menace at set pieces and it was his free-kick that paved the way for Richardson's goal.

The former Paris St Germain attacker has been linked with Arsenal and he showed why because he was a handful throughout with his searing turn of pace that set up the killer second goal. The standing ovation when he went off late on said it all.

This was only his sixth appearance of the season and he justified his inclusion with a tidy display but he could do nothing about the goals as his defense disintegrated.

He was not given a moment's rest by James McClean and struggled to get to grips with one of the most talked about young wingers.

The versatile Belgian makes defending look so easy and ensured Gunners old boy Seb Larsson hardly got a look in in open play but his team missed him when he moved from center back to left back.

It was a frustrating evening for the young winger as little went right for him but he deserves credit for never giving up and his own goal was cruel reward for his never-say-die attitude..

He struggled to impose himself in the overcrowded midfield trenches and was a peripheral figure and hardly got into the game.

He was unable to really hurt Sunderland because he played too deeply and was knocked out of his stride by Lee Cattermole on a regular basis.

The French defender looked comfortable at left back in the opening exchanges so it was a shame the 20-year-old limped off early through injury.

He saw plenty of the ball but the Spanish play-maker was simply not good enough to unpick the packed Sunderland defence.

The skipper was starved off service and ran into trouble too often as Sunderland defended in numbers.

A welcome return to club duties for the live wire Ivory Coast striker who looked threatening whenever he picked up possession but faded because he hardly saw the ball.