14th September, 2013
Arsenal new record signing Mesut Ozil made an instant impact at the Stadium of Light, while team-mate Aaron Ramsey continued his fine start to the campaign.
Ozil, signed from Real Madrid on transfer deadline day for £42 million, didn’t take long to show his class as the Germany midfielder produced a brilliant touch to control a long ball and then squared for Olivier Giroud, who made no mistake with a cool finish in the 11th minute.
But Arsenal were indebted to a controversial second-half decision from referee Martin Atkinson to rule out what appeared a perfectly good goal for the hosts from Jozy Altidore, with the visitors ahead by a single goal at the time.
Ramsey doubled the advantage shortly afterwards in the 76th-minute, swapping passes with Ozil and Olivier Giroud to beat Keiren Westwood with a confident finish from inside the area.
On this early evidence, Ozil’s hefty transfer fee is money well spent.
Before the break especially, the 24-year-old’s movement, vision and range-of-passing was on a different plane to Paolo Di Canio’s side, who with just one point from their first four games, look set for a season of struggle.
Arsenal threatened to bury Sunderland under a deluge of early goals but Theo Walcott was guilty of a string of glaring first-half misses.
It kept the hosts in the hunt to such an extent that substitute Craig Gardner levelled from the penalty spot three minutes into the second half, sending Wojciech Szczesny the wrong way with his first touch after Adam Johnson was tripped in the area by Laurent Koscielny.
Steven Fletcher had the ball in the net soon after from Johnson’s low cross but the Scotland international was rightly flagged offside as the Black Cats sensed blood.
Ramsey met Carl Jenkinson’s 67th-minute cross with a stunning first-time finish from just inside the box to restore the lead, before the controversial turning point which referee Atkinson will not reflect upon with any satisfaction.
Altidore out-muscled Bacary Sagna to beat Szczesny with a low finish from inside the area, despite Koscielny’s attempted goal-line clearance.
Atkinson, however, brought play back, booked Sagna and awarded a free-kick to Sunderland, to the bemusement of the majority of a 39,000 crowd who expected advantage to be played.
It was a major call to go against the hosts and took the steam out of their comeback as Ramsey’s second goal of the contest gave the visitors valuable breathing space en route to a third victory in four Premier League games this season.
Operating in the middle of a forward three behind lone forward Giroud, in front of Mathieu Flamini, one of two holding midfielders, it took Ozil just 11 minutes to make his mark, with a key assist for the contest’s opening goal.
Kieran Gibbs’s 30-yard pass from inside Arsenal’s half found Ozil’s purposeful run down the left.
The midfielder’s touch and inviting low cross was swept home first time from 10 yards into the bottom corner by Giroud, the Frenchman’s fifth goal of the season, and remarkably the first of his 15 Premier League goals to be scored outside London.
Sunderland quickly responded and Modibo Diakite came close to levelling inside the opening quarter-of-an hour.
The defender rose above Giroud, only to see his header come back off the bar when he met a corner from Charis Mavrias, the Greece international making his full Premier League debut for the Black Cats, along with Ki Sung-Yeung, the South Korean midfielder.
Walcott compounded a personally disappointing first half by making it a hat-trick of missed chances, heading wastefully when meeting Jack Wilshere’s perfect cross 12 yards from goal as Sunderland were again carved apart by some slick interplay from Arsene Wenger’s side.
Gardner’s introduction sparked some much needed life into the hosts, who were left to rue Atkinson’s controversial call, with Di Canio sent from his technical area late on for his protests.
Ramsey was quick to hail Ozil’s impact, saying: “You’ve seen what he is all about, slipping those balls in, he has one of highest assist-rates in Europe and he is going to create a lot of opportunities for us.”
Tottenham started the post-Gareth Bale era with a 2-0 win against Norwich at White Hart Lane.
Bale joined Real Madrid just before the transfer deadline earlier this month but the Welsh winger’s move doesn’t seem to have unsettled Andre Villas-Boas’s team, who have won three of their four matches this term.
They were ahead when Danish winger Christian Eriksen, signed from Ajax to fill the gap left by Bale, slid the ball perfectly into the path of Gylfi Sigurdsson, who hammered home in the 28th minute.
Iceland midfielder Sigurdsson killed off Norwich with his second goal, from Paulinho’s cross, four minutes after half-time.
Stoke manager Mark Hughes frustrated his former club as Manchester City were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw at the Britannia Stadium.
Hughes was furious to be sacked by City’s Abu Dhabi-based owners in 2009 but he enjoyed a measure of revenge in a dour clash as Stoke held on against Manuel Pellegrini’s expensively-assembled outfit.
Yoan Gouffran was Newcastle’s star as the Magpies won 2-1 at Aston Villa.
Alan Pardew’s team moved in front when Hatem Ben Arfa lashed home from Loic Remy’s pass in the 18th minute.
Christian Benteke brought Villa level in the 67th minute, the powerful striker rising highest to head his fifth goal in five appearances this season.
But Newcastle took the points thanks to French midfielder Gouffran six minutes later.
Hull and Cardiff shared a 1-1 draw in a clash between the two clubs who won automatic promotion from the Championship last season.
Steve Bruce’s team took the lead through Curtis Davies’s 40th minute header but Cardiff midfielder Peter Whittingham volleyed the equaliser in the 59th minute.
Steve Sidwell’s 22nd minute strike gave Fulham the lead at Craven Cottage but West Bromwich Albion rescued a 1-1 draw when Gareth McAuley netted in the 90th minute.