It’s been an unpredictable couple of weeks for the Gunners, with Van Persie out until mid-October, and Walcott joining him on the injured list, the last thing Wenger needed was a sending off and a last minute equaliser.
Wenger may have a case when he bemoans the additional minute added on top of injury time, which allowed Darren Bent to sneak in and nick an equaliser in a last gasp effort at the Stadium of Light, but few would deny Steve Bruce’s men their point. To further add to Arsenal’s woes, Song was dismissed for picking up a second yellow card shortly after the break, and Fabregas was substituted early on in proceedings after struggling with his hamstring.
Arsenal showed great spirit with ten men, and were unlucky not to take all three points back down the M1, especially when Rosicky smashed a penalty over the bar following an Elmohamady foul on Nasri, but a plucky Sunderland side who had smothered the Arsenal midfield all afternoon took control of proceedings and earned themselves a point.
After demolishing Braga earlier in the week at the Emirates it is clear that Arsenal are in the habit of winning, and if it weren’t for the unstoppable Chelsea would be looking seriously like title contenders. In fact, the Gunners were the Andy Gray betting picks to win the league this season.
A good test for the depleted squad will be the short trip to Spurs on Tuesday night in the Carling Cup. Harry Redknapp will undoubtedly field a strong side, but many are already predicting starts for Vela, Emmanuel-Thomas and Djourou in the derby as Wenger pursues his youth in the tournament. Next weekend’s home tie with West Brom shouldn’t cause too many sleepless nights, although the Baggies out-played Birmingham at the weekend and held Tottenham at home the week before, the Gunners will be confident of picking up the points and gaining some momentum before the crucial clash with Chelsea on October 3rd.
With a few weeks gone in the season, it looks as though the top of the table will have a familiar look to it this campaign. Chelsea and Arsenal are playing the best football, while Manchester United have been picking up points without playing their best football.
Meanwhile, the Notts Forrest betting tips suggest the side are still in with a chance of making the play-offs despite their poor start to the Championship season.
The side are currently 17th in the table, but they are only four points off 6th spot.
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