On-fire Robin van Persie ‘too good’ for Sunderland

Arsenal 2 Sunderland 1. Arsenal finally moved into the top half of the table yesterday, but it needed Dutch striker Robin van Persie to be on top of his game to see off the challenge of Sunderland.

Van Persie scored twice for the Gunners, a win that lifts them into tenth spot, still 12 points adrift of leaders Manchester City. "Robin Van Persie was just too good for us," admitted Sunderland boss Steve Bruce later.

Van Persie was on fire from the start and it took him just 29 seconds to latch on to Gervinho's cross from the left and drill the ball past Simon Mignolet for the fastest goal of this Premier League season. Van Persie could have had a hat-trick within the first 20 minutes but while a delightful deft chip from the edge of the area beat Mignolet it didn't get the better of the upright. Then Van Persie left fly from long-range and saw his shot pass inches wide.

At this stage it was a case of when and not if the Gunners would extend the lead, but then came a moment of magic from Sunderland's Sebastian Larsson.

The former Arsenal player punished Mikel Arteta for conceding a free-kick just outside the area with a brilliant strike that curled over the wall and into the top right hand corner of Wojciech Szczesny's goal. Minutes later the visitors almost took the lead but Lee Cattermole's header from point-blank range was wonderfully saved by the diving Szczesny.

Arsenal regrouped in the second half though there were few clear chances as the home crowd grew ever more frustrated. Then came the intervention of Van Persie on 81 minutes, lashing a free-kick inside Mignolet's left-hand post for the winning goal.

It was a sumptuous strike and one that made Van Persie the toast of the Emirates, particularly on the back of his comments in the matchday programme in which he rubbished suggestions he might be planning a move to Manchester City in the New Year. "I want to say something about my commitment to Arsenal because there have been many stories in the media lately," wrote Van Persie. "I am committed to Arsenal, and that's how it is, despite people [in the media] making up stories."

Asked for his assessment of Van Persie's display, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger replied: "The first goal was a good display of the team and the second chance he made the difference just because of his skill, which was exceptional."

The victory was Arsenal's fifth consecutive win at home and Wenger believes the foundations are being laid for a brighter future after the club's worst start to a league season in half a century.

"If we can put another two or three results together it will help confidence because you can feel that the attitude and spirit of the team is great," explained Wenger. "Even at half time we had a good response. The motivation is there and the quality too so we should eventually get there." ·