Poor performance costs Arsenal in goalless draw

Arsenal's distinctly average form continued at home to Sunderland yesterday evening as we drew 0-0. It was yet another game in which we failed to hit the ground running and for the most part was very similar to the game against Swansea the other week; we had plenty of possession but met a side who were determined to 'park the bus'. Sunderland came to do a job, and that job was successful as they achieved the point they needed to secure their safety. At no moment did we look entirely threatening and that we'd break them down. In my opinion, it's inexcusable how you can't score against Sunderland at home, especially after failing to score in our previous two games at the Emirates too. In terms of our line-up, we made two changes from our previous games. Jack Wilshere made his first start in over 6 months as he came in for Coquelin whilst Gibbs returned for his first League start in over 2 and a half months, replacing Nacho Monreal.

Wilshere made his first start for over 6 months as Arsenal drew 0-0

Once again there was a noticeable lack of intensity and pace in the final third. Barring Hector Bellerin we barely had anyone who was willing to take their man on. Because of that we made life easy for Sunderland as we played right into their hands by playing far too narrowly in attack. Alexis Sanchez in the past few matches has been the player we've needed to drive us forward in those types of areas but he didn't have a particularly good game. It was the third game in a row now where we've been poor in the first 45 minutes. A part of that could be the fact that we can be found guilty of trying to over play on a regular basis. There was a lot of opportunities when we got on the edge of the area and instead of shooting we played another pass. Saying that, our finishing was absolutely woeful in that first half.

I don't mean to make certain players scapegoats but it hasn't helped that Olivier Giroud is currently on a very barren spell. He appears low on confidence and if we're to start playing well then we really need Giroud to start finding form again. The problem for him is that he's not even getting in the right areas, and that was particularly evident in the first half when he kept coming short and passing up opportunities rather than shooting. If he starts playing more to his strengths then we'll find that the goals in the team will start to come again. However he did come alive a little more in the second half as he saw a flicked effort from his favourite near post saved by Pantilimon, who like Fabianski against Swansea, kept his side in the game.

Although we didn't score, the second half was greatly improved, as it was against Manchester United. We created a lot more as the game opened up but the primary reason behind why we created a lot more was because of Theo Walcott's introduction. Wilshere had had a decent game on the right but his first start since returning hadn't brought much joy. That did give Ramsey the chance to move back into his preferred central position though and his and Walcott's link-up play, as it was against United, was brilliant. When Theo was on the pitch we got in the wider areas more and we started to look more threatening. It's just a shame that he didn't start because after the impact he made at the weekend I thought he'd finally earned his chance.

One of our best chances did indeed come from the Ramsey and Walcott combination. The Welshman slid a perfect through ball into Walcott but his dink over the keeper just didn't quite have enough legs to find the net. For me, this game against Sunderland showed exactly why he should start against West Brom, and possibly even the FA Cup final. When he came on he showed strong signs of returning to his best; at point point he took on his man, burst beyond the defender and struck a shot which was well kept out. It was a typical Walcott piece of play, and hopefully we'll start to see it more often again from now on.

I also feel as though it's worth mentioning David Ospina's performance. His displays in recent weeks have come under a bit of scrutiny but against Sunderland he made a few important saves. Especially from Fletcher in the second half when one-on-one as he put the ball wide and out for a corner.

The performances of Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil, along with Alexis Sanchez's, were a bit concerning. Cazorla has dropped off a bit in recent weeks compared to his form earlier in 2015, whilst Mesut Ozil slowed our game down a little when we needed that quick impetus. However you can't blame him when the movement for most parts of the game in the forward positions was non existent. In my opinion, if the German is to be a proper success in the Premier League then he needs to become more lively and energetic in the final third due to the pace of the English game.

The most concerning aspect right now though is the run we're on. We're without a win in 4 matches which after being unbeaten in 9 games is hugely disappointing, especially ahead of a Cup final. In my opinion it's vitally important for our confidence that we finish on a high at home to West Brom on Sunday in our final league game.

The team's line-ups:

Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Ramsey, Cazorla, Wilshere(67), Ozil(81), Sanchez, Giroud.
Subs: Szczesny, Gabriel, Monreal, Coquelin, Flamini, Rosicky(81), Walcott(67).

Sunderland: Pantilimon, Jones, O'Shea, Coates, van Aanholt, Cattermole, Larsson, Johnson(74), Wickham(45), Defoe, Graham(45).
Subs: Mannone, Vergini, Reveillere, Rodwell(45), Giaccherini, Buckley(74), Fletcher(45).

Referee: Anthony Taylor.
Attendance: 59,987.