Sunderland

2.23

• 
  67

  13

  2.50

  Simon Mignolet

  Made a couple of saves early on to deny Walcott and made a stunning stop, sprawling to his right to keep Ramsey's deflected drive out but was helpless to stop Cazorla's powerful effort that passed through a crowd of legs before zooming past him.

• 
  10

  29

  2.00

  John O'Shea

  Found himself overwhelmed by Giroud's power and poise, failing to shackle the Frenchman throughout the 90 minutes.

• 
  14

  30

  2.50

  Titus Bramble

  Made some booming clearances and crunching tackles, but could not handle the neat interplay of the Gunners' attack, stopping to shut them down for the most part.

• 
  4

  37

  1.50

  Danny Rose

  Completely failed to stop Walcott throughout and it was only a combination of poor finishing and poor luck from the England man that didn't see him punished. Forced off late with a hamstring injury.

• 
  9

  25

  2.00

  Alfred N'diaye

  Charged aound midfield with plenty of vigour but lacked a bit of neatness on the ball, which let him down as he hit the Gunners' penalty area on a couple of occasions.

• 
  6

  46

  1.50

  Lee Cattermole

  Booked after just 80 seconds on his return from injury and found Wilshere tough to handle, resorting to fouling the England star on a couple of occasions. Looked rusty after four months spent mostly on the sidelines and was withdrawn at half-time.

• 
  6

  29

  2.00

  Craig Gardner

  Found Cazorla tough to track with the Spaniard drifting out of position throughout and also failed going forward, where he could not provide anything telling from wide.

• 
  17

  22

  3.00

  Jack Colback

  Moved back into midfield after some recent games at left-back and looked much more confident in his natural position. Snapped into tackles keenly and spread the play across the pitch neatly.

• 
  9

  31

  2.00

  Adam Johnson

  Despite Jenkinson's poor showing, Johnson could not take advantage in the first half and found himself effectively shut down by Monreal when he switched to the right after the break.

• 
  49

  10

  3.00

  Stéphane Sessegnon

  Looked the Black Cats' most threatening player on either flank, darting past Arsenal players with ease, although he was unable to find a telling ball and his wide positioning nullified his own goal threat.

• 
  10

  25

  2.50

  Steven Fletcher

  Completely isolated in the first half and could not contribute but with Arsenal going down to 10 men and partnered by Danny Graham, he managed to get a sniff at goal, but found Szczesny unbeatable.

Substitutions

• 
  21

  24

  2.50

  Sebastian Larsson

  Replaced Cattermole at the break and added an attacking impetus to the midfield. His set-piece delivery was regularly threatening but could not carve open the Gunners.

• 
  3

  26

  David Vaughan

  Came on for the injured Rose but could contribute little else other than a wildly-hit effort that flew well wide.

• 
  9

  28

  2.00

  Danny Graham

  Given a home debut, to a fantastic reception, but could not provide a goal despite the hosts' late domination.

Arsenal

2.96

• 
  343

  7

  3.50

  Wojciech Szczesny

  Given very little to do throughout the majority of the game but was a strong presence behind his defence, dealt well with a late bombardment of crosses and saved the points with a couple of superlative late saves from Fletcher.

• 
  281

  10

  3.00

  Bacary Sagna

  Switched to centre-back just before kick-off due to Koscielny's withdrawal, but looked assured alongside Mertesacker and covered the movement by Fletcher off the ball well.

• 
  188

  14

  3.00

  Per Mertesacker

  A dominating presence at the back. Routinely beat Fletcher in the air as the Black Cats aimed long balls up towards the Scotland international, but the German was not to be moved.

• 
  166

  27

  2.50

  Monreal

  Struggled to control Sessegnon in the first half, but found Johnson a more predictable, and manageable, prospect after the break. Did well to keep the left-footer going down the right side and nullify him.

• 
  66

  147

  1.50

  Carl Jenkinson Flop of the Match

  A late addition to the team with Koscielny aggravating a calf injury in the warm-up, picked up an early caution for chopping Colback down and was eventually dismissed after a couple more nervy fouls for going in late on Sessegnon.

• 
  183

  8

  3.00

  Mikel Arteta

  Has slotted straight back into the Gunners' midfield and provided an essential air of calm to the side in the face of a physical trio in the centre for Sunderland. Got his foot in the ball and recycled the ball well, launching attack after attack.

• 
  310

  18

  4.00

  Jack Wilshere Top of the Match

  The beating heart at the centre of everything the Gunners did in attack. Picked up from where he left off for England in midweek, carrying the ball through midfield with ease and always finding a team-mate in space with his passes.

• 
  196

  33

  3.00

  Aaron Ramsey

  Had to get over a shaky start to the match that saw him mis-place a couple of passes but, once his nerves settled, turned in a composed performance alongside Arteta, passing accurately and tackling bravely where required, slotted in well at right-back after Jenkinson's red.

• 
  269

  8

  3.50

  Santi Cazorla

  Flitted in and out of the game as huge operated largely from the left flank, but had a hugely telling touch on 36 minutes as he picked up Walcott's lay-off and slammed a low effort home for the opening goal.

• 
  167

  40

  3.00

  Olivier Giroud

  Hit most of his efforts off target but was a strong presence up front for the Gunners, regularly beating Bramble and O'Shea in the air, while bringing his team-mates into the game with several neat touches and passes.

• 
  188

  22

  3.00

  Theo Walcott

  Constantly worked his way into menacing positions and was a threat throughout, but could not find a finish to beat Mignolet. Should have put the game beyond doubt late on but his dinked effort beat the Belgian before bouncing back off the post.

Substitutions

• 
  128

  12

  Ignasi Miquel

  A late introduction for Walcott to add defensive solidity.

• 
  121

  45

  2.50

  A. Diaby

  Replaced the stricken Wilshere and maintained the drive supplied by the England man, drew a low stop out of Mignolet shorty after his introduction.