Robin Van Persie to the rescue as Arsenal secure three points against Sunderland.

It took Van Persie only 28 seconds to once again show his class by putting the ball into the back of the net and putting Arsenal ahead just after Howard Webb blew his whistle for the kick off of the game. Van Persie and Arsenal shone like a million stars for the first 30 mins of the game, dictating play and having the upper hand allowing Sunderland to feed on scrap but Sunderland found thier way into the game and took inspiration from a superbly taken free kick by Larsson.

Just like I said earlier today that Sunderland would come prepared hoping to leave with at least a point, Steve Bruces' line up ultimately confirmed it. He played a 4-5-1 formation, with 6 midfielders and 4 defenders leaving Sessegnon (a midfielder) upfront.

The second half kicked off and Arsenal started on the front foot again but failed to make any real impact as Sunderland kept their discipline. Arsenal had several opportunities from set pieces but squandered every chance they got until the 83rd minute when Arsenal had a free kick on the right side of the pitch (Van Persie territory) and Van Persie stepped up to take it and superbly curled the ball into the net much to the delight of Arsenal fans across the world and RVP himself (of course he was delighted, what else would explain taking his shirt off).

Arsenal was able to survive through the remender of the game as Sunderland pushed for a late equaliser. Arsenal walked away with the 3 points today and I'm sure this victory would help build the much needed confidence.

Here are my player ratings:

Wojciech Szczesny : 6.5

Carl Jenkinson : 5.5

Per Mertesacker : 6.5

Laurent Koscielny : 6.5

Kieran Gibbs : 6.0

Alex Song : 7.0

Mikel Arteta : 6.0

Tomas Rosicky : 7.0

Theo Walcott : 6.0

Gervinho : 6.5

Robin van Persie : 8.5

substitutes.

Andre Santos : 6.0

Yossi Benayoun : 6.0

Andrey Arshavin : 6.0