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Robin van Persie is on fire for the Gooners


The gloom surrounding Arsenal was lifted by Robin van Persie, whose double, featuring a 29-second opener, secured a vital 2-1 victory over Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

In the club’s matchday programme, Van Persie asserted his desire to remain at the Emirates, rejecting comparisons to Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, and demonstrated his commitment with a standout performance that included a brilliant winning goal with just eight minutes left.

Arsene Wenger’s team started the match two points above the relegation zone, facing their worst season start in 58 years.

However, as long as van Persie is in the squad, Arsenal remains a constant threat, and the Gunners’ captain displayed his quality by executing a calm finish just 29 seconds into the match.

Sunderland’s early mistake from the kick-off allowed Gervinho to deliver a low cross into the penalty box, where van Persie tricked Wes Brown before shooting past Simon Mignolet, marking the club’s fastest Premier League goal ever and the quickest in the league this season.

In the 31st minute, former Arsenal winger Sebastian Larsson leveled the score with a stunning goal, curling a shot beyond Wojciech Szczesny from 25 yards out.

Szczesny then showed his skills by making an excellent save from Lee Cattermole’s close-range header, preventing Sunderland from taking the lead.

But van Persie reserved his best for last, bending a fantastic free-kick over the Sunderland wall and into the top corner in the 82nd minute.

This secured Arsenal just their third win in eight league matches, moving Wenger’s men up to 10th place, while the struggling Sunderland remained above the relegation zone only by goal difference.

“We started strongly for the first 25 minutes, but after Sunderland equalized, our confidence wavered a bit,” Wenger remarked.

“The second half was all ours, but we needed something special from Robin van Persie to tip the scales.” 

EPL Ladder

 

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

1 ManCity 8 7 1 0 21 22
2 Man United 8 6 2 0 19 20
3 Chelsea 8 6 1 1 11 19
4 Newcastle 8 4 4 0 5 16
5 Liverpool 8 4 2 2 2 14
6 Tottenham 7 4 1 2 1 13
7 Stoke 8 3 3 2 -2 12
8 Aston Villa 8 2 5 1 1 11
9 Norwich 8 3 2 3 -1 11
10 Arsenal 8 3 1 4 -5 10
11 QPR 8 2 3 3 -8 9
12 West Brom 8 2 2 4 -3 8
13 Swansea 8 2 2 4 -5 8
14 Fulham 8 1 4 3 1 7
15 Everton 7 2 1 4 -4 7
16 Wolverhampton 8 2 1 5 -6 7
17 Sunderland 8 1 3 4 0 6
18 Bolton 8 2 0 6 -10 6
19 Wigan 8 1 2 5 -8 5
20 Blackburn 8 1 2 5 -9 5

by Buford Balony

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