Sunderland 2-0 Arsenal reflections: Bruce the novelist, Walcott the cyber-activist
Arsenal turned in another wretched display, while MON’s Mackems were unrecognisable from their former selves.
Sunderland 2-0 Arsenal as it happened
Image courtesy of WellOffside.com
* Steve Bruce has a way with words. Not just because he’s a successful author, adding to his crime novels with the excellent autobiography, Heading For Victory, but because he can turn a squad against him with little more than his behaviour. Remember Steve Bruce’s Sunderland and compare it to today’s. It’s the same squad. It almost feels cruel to append this: I suppose it was only Arsenal. AN
* It was difficult to choose any performances that stood out as particularly atrocious from Arsenal’s team. Squillaci was typically slow of foot and mind, and Walcott was so anonymous he might as well have worn a V for Vendetta mask, but it was Alex Song, who seemed so recently to have been a lynchpin of Arsenal’s side, who put in one of the worst showings, completely failing to stop Sunderland from overrunning Arsenal when deployed in either midfield or defence. CH
* I wrote this on Arsenal a while ago. It turns out I was wrong – whoever takes over the club on his departure will, at this rate, be on a lower footing than Le Professeur was when he first rolled into Highbury. People will point to the fact that his successor will instead be rolling into the Emirates Stadium, but if there’s no money to spend, that means very little. CH
* Manchester United are second and deserve it despite their first half of the season. Arsenal are fourth and you can’t say they’re not the fourth best team in England. It’s the best league in the world! AN
* Arsenal are fourth in the league. Just think about that for a moment. JS
