Missed opportunity for Gunners

Arsenal continue to stutter as they could not break down Sunderland and suffered a fourth straight draw.

Arshavin cannot inspire victory as Sunderland hold Arsenal

Arsenal failed to give their hopes of a UEFA Champions League berth a lift as a 0-0 home draw against Sunderland made it four straight stalemates for the Gunners. Chelsea had defeated Aston Villa earlier on Saturday, presenting Arsene Wenger's fifth-placed side with an opportunity to move within four points of the latter. Winter transfer window signing Andrey Arshavin made his debut for Arsenal, and he showed flashes of his class in an evenly contested first half that saw much wastefulness in front of goal. A second-half onslaught was expected from Wenger's charges, but, with the Black Cats defending impressively without being overstretched, few chances were created and the game ended all square. Despite Arsenal again having plenty of possession, a Kolo Toure header cleared off the line in the first half was a close as they got. It was, though, almost a dream start when Arshavin picked up a stray pass from Andy Reid and charged towards the penalty area, before unleashing a low drive which flew inches wide. Arsenal were working hard when not in possession, denying Sunderland space to create forward momentum.

Curled

Robin van Persie was released into the left side of the penalty box by Denilson after 11 minutes. The Dutchman - with 14 goals so far - took the ball around keeper Fulop, but then could only watch as his clipped effort curled just off target. Arshavin cut inside and drilled an angled shot goalwards from the edge of the penalty area, which Fulop pushed away at full stretch. There was a warning for the Gunners when Sunderland broke quickly and released Anton Ferdinand down the right, whose drive was beaten out by Manuel Almunia. Reid then left fly with a 25-yard effort, which soared over before Dean Whitehead forced a decent save from Almunia as the hosts were pushed on the defensive for the first time in the match. Arshavin was then slipped in down the right. His cutback from the goalline picked out Nicklas Bendtner in the six-yard box, and Fulop had to get down quickly to turn the ball around the post. At the end of the first half, Toure sent a far-post header goalwards following a corner from the right - only for Sunderland midfielder Reid to clear it off the line. Following the restart, Arsenal continued to build a sustained period of pressure, if without troubling the Sunderland defence in the final third. Arshavin floated over a ball into the penalty area from the right flank, but it was just too far ahead of Bendtner.

Arshavin off

With 27 minutes left, the Russian was given a well-earned rest when he was replaced by Carlos Vela, who moved to the left as Nasri switched flanks. The young Mexican almost had an instant impact when his cross flew across the six-yard box and would only have needed a touch into the net. When George McCartney fouled Bacary Sagna in the right-hand corner, Van Persie whipped in the free-kick, which the keeper had to push behind his near post for a corner. Vela dragged a left-foot shot across goal when the ball dropped to him in the six-yard box. The Mexican again failed to hit the target when picked out by Van Persie following a pass alongside the edge of the penalty area. Full-back Gael Clichy picked up an injury and was replaced by Kieran Gibbs for the final few minutes, as the Gunners again were left frustrated with William Gallas dragging a close-range effort wide in stoppage time.

Arsenal	Team Statistics	Sunderland
0	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
7	Shots on Target	2
7	Shots off Target	1
2	Blocked Shots	0
8	Corners	3
7	Fouls	12
1	Offsides	1
2	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
86.9	Passing Success	76.6
29	Tackles	30
72.4	Tackles Success	66.7
60.6	Possession	39.4
59.7	Territorial Advantage	40.3