Arsenal vs. Sunderland: Winners and Losers from Premier League
Sunderland secured Premier League survival with a scoreless draw against Arsenal on Wednesday night at the Emirates Stadium.
The home side dominated possession and created 23 chances, per Squawka Football, but the Gunners were unable to find a breakthrough against Sunderland's stout defensive resistance.
With the draw, Sunderland are now 15th with 38 points, four ahead of Hull City with just one match to go. Either Hull or Newcastle United will fill the Premier League's third and final relegation spot, with Burnley and Queens Park Rangers already confirmed to play in the Championship next season.
For Arsenal, meanwhile, it was a disappointing result but one that all but secured third place. The Gunners now lead Manchester United by three points with one match left and hold a significantly superior goal differential. Barring a series of highly unusual results, Arsenal will finish third and avoid a potentially tricky playoff match to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League group stage.
Here are our choices for the winners and losers from Wednesday's match.
Winners: Sunderland and Dick Advocaat
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The scenes at full time told the story. While Arsenal's players appeared disappointed, Sunderland's reacted with unbridled joy. And why wouldn't they? With the draw, the Black Cats secured their place in the Premier League for a ninth consecutive season.
After the final whistle, players embraced and applauded the travelling supporters, who had cheered their side on enthusiastically throughout the 90 minutes. In addition, manager Dick Advocaat showed real emotion, appearing to shed tears as he congratulated his players and celebrated with them.
Advocaat only joined the club in March, having replaced the ousted Gus Poyet. But in just two months, he has apparently forged a genuine bond with the players and club. The tears showed as much.
Now the question is whether the Dutchman will remain in his current position. His arrival has given the club a boost, and his continued presence could conceivably bring an uptick in form next season.
But it might not be up to the club. At 67, Advocaat might not want to take on a long-term project, and Damian Spellman of the Press Association (via the Daily Mail) recently reported that he has told his wife that he would not stay in England for a long time.
But Sunderland's players obviously like him, and their captain's comments at the final whistle reflected as much.
"It's fantastic," defender John O'Shea told Sky Sports (h/t BBC Sport). "I saw a Sky advert for Survival Sunday, and Sunderland featured on it, and I thought, 'Oh, my God, we have to get away from that.' The manager has been brilliant."
Sunderland survived this season by being just good enough. The Black Cats have drawn 17 matches, a record for a 38-game Premier League season, per ESPN's Paul Carr. Of those 17 draws, 10 were of the scoreless variety, including Wednesday's.
Apart from the clean sheets, that's not a particularly impressive record. But Sunderland were good enough when it counted. As BBC Sport's Phil McNulty tweeted, the Black Cats showed "huge determination" and "spirit" as they fought for safety.
Loser: Arsenal's FA Cup Preparation
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For Arsenal, on the other hand, the story at full time was depressingly familiar. Having faced an opponent determined to defend, Arsene Wenger's men were unable to create the spark needed to break through and score a decisive goal.
Any onlooker who has followed Arsenal for any amount of time will recognize the storyline. In recent years, when facing an organized, disciplined opponent, the Gunners too often fail to find a way through. Wednesday was no different.
Sunderland packed their box for most of the 90 minutes, often playing with 10 and even 11 men behind the ball. Lacking a Plan B to break down their visitors, Arsenal dominated possession but were not able to score. The Gunners did improve in the second half, creating a number of good chances, but they could find no way past Costel Pantilimon.
And so, Arsenal have now failed to score in any of their last three home matches. It's a worrying trend, as James Olley of the London Evening Standard tweeted: "Not of immediate consequence but drop in #afc form a concern before the cup final."
Speaking to Sky Sports (h/t BBC Sport), Wenger said:
"We couldn't score and Sunderland defended well which is understandable because they knew they could be safe tonight. We tried and tried.
We gave a lot on Sunday to come back and you could see that the legs were not completely there tonight. At least we didn't concede and we got an important point. We have some time to prepare and recover for the FA Cup final and I think we will do that.
"
The FA Cup final is set for May 30, which is a week from Saturday. Arsenal will face Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium that day, and if Villa manager Tim Sherwood has been watching the Gunners' most recent games, he'd be crazy not to adopt a strategy similar to that employed by Sunderland on Wednesday night.
In recent weeks—as well as in recent years—Arsenal have repeatedly shown that they have trouble against defensive-minded opponents. Perhaps Wenger will find a way to fix that, or perhaps Gooners should start to worry.
Winner: Costel Pantilimon
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Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon made seven saves, stopping Arsenal in a variety of ways and locations, as this graphic from Squawka Football shows. Especially in the second half, when the hosts posed more and more of a threat, the big Romanian made an invaluable contribution to his side's bid for survival.
It would be difficult to pick out a single save as his best of the night, but Pantilimon made a pair of excellent stops midway through the second half, first denying Olivier Giroud from close range then keeping out Kieran Gibbs' well-placed header with a diving effort.
Sunderland came to the Emirates needing a point. Pantilimon made sure they earned it.
Loser: Olivier Giroud
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Olivier Giroud failed to score again on Wednesday, meaning the Arsenal striker has not found the back of the net since April 4 against Liverpool, a run of seven matches.
It would be unfair to single out Giroud for his side's failure to score against Sunderland. The Frenchman did miss chances, but so did several other Gunners.
But with third place all but secured, perhaps Wenger will consider resting Giroud for the final Premier League game of the season, against West Bromwich Albion on Sunday at the Emirates. As the only proven centre-forward in Arsenal's senior squad, Giroud has shouldered an immense burden throughout the season.
With the FA Cup final approaching, a day off could be just what the Frenchman needs.
Winner: John O'Shea
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Several Sunderland players warrant recognition for their individual performances. As a whole, the team did an admirable job against an Arsenal side that is stacked with attacking talent. And for that reason, captain John O'Shea receives individual attention.
As the on-field leader, the captain's job is to implement the manager's plan. O'Shea led his team by example, making 11 clearances and five interceptions, per WhoScored.com.
But he was not the only one. Sebastian Coates, on loan from Liverpool, impressed alongside O'Shea in central defense, while Jermain Defoe sacrificed his attacking instincts to serve as an auxiliary left-back and track Hector Bellerin's marauding runs down Arsenal's right flank.
Pick a Sunderland player. Chances are that player contributed to the team's defensive success.
Follow @MiguelCominguez.
