Super Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez struck twice as Arsenal claimed their second away win of the week with an uninspiring 2-0 victory at Sunderland.

The Gunners needed two goals in as many minutes to come from behind and beat Anderlecht in midweek and there was a sense of fortune about their three-point haul at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland were looking to recover from their embarrassing 8-0 defeat by Southampton last time out so it was surprising to see just two changes to their side, with Jack Rodwell and Adam Johnson recalled to the starting line-up.

Although Gus Poyet's men improved on their previous display it was again defensive mishaps that proved costly as their unbeaten home record came crashing to halt.

Arsenal opened the scoring on the half hour mark when Wes Brown's poor passback went straight to Sanchez, and the Chilean raced towards goal before clipping the ball over former Gunner Vito Mannone.

At 1-0, the hosts were very much still in the game but another lapse in concentration cost them dearly as Arsene Wenger's men completed the scoring in stoppage time.

The goal marked an impressive landmark for the Gunners with Sanchez's second of the afternoon their 1500th goal in the Premier League, but it did arrive in fortuitous circumstances. Santiago Vergini, who opened the scoring with an own goal in his side's horror show last weekend, passed the ball back to Mannone and the Italian dawdled too long on the ball before Sanchez nipped in to take the ball and score the simplest of goals.

Although it wasn't the best of performances, Wenger would have been delighted to see his side keep a second clean sheet of the season and to come out of the last two games with maximum points, albeit in fortunate circumstances, is an excellent return. The main other positive for Wenger was the return of Theo Walcott. The England forward was an unused substitute but it was great to see him back in the squad after nine months out with a knee injury. Once Walcott returns to full fitness, he will be a huge asset for the London club once again and it will be interesting to see how quickly he can regain top form. He could yet prove to be a key figure in the Gunners' Premier League campaign.

It wasn't all good news on the injury front with Kieran Gibbs being forced off after 74 minutes. Wenger confirmed after the match that the left-back had sustained a hip problem but it is not yet clear how long the 25-year-old will be on the sidelines for. The Gunners' squad is already stretched with Calum Chambers needed at right-back due to the absence of Mathieu Debuchy. Nacho Monreal has been needed at centre-back due to the injury of Laurent Koscielny, which looks set to extend until at least after the next international break, meaning Arsenal will be praying Gibbs' problem isn't too serious or they will be lacking cover. There is the possibility of Monreal to move back to left-back, Chambers into the centre and Hector Bellerin to cover at right-back, but Arsenal's defence really is being tested to the limit. Wenger really needs to buy an additional defender in January. Although we have some decent defenders in our ranks, all it takes is a few injuries and it looks like we could struggle further, so we need to plug some of the gaps with decent cover in January to help combat any future problems.

The win puts the Gunners into fifth place and only three points behind champions Manchester City, who suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at West Ham. The title race is firmly in Chelsea's favour and if Arsenal are to stay anywhere near the other title chasers they cannot afford to drop any silly point as per earlier in the season.

The next match sees Arsenal host newly promoted Burnley and, without being disrespectful to Sean Dyche's men, this is a match we should be winning comfortably. The players need to take a long hard look at themselves and put in one hell of a performance to prove the quality of players we have can in fact fulfil their potential. We need one of our top class performances where we totally brush aside the opposition scoring plenty of goals. We haven't had many 3-0 or 4-0s in a while, so let's make sure the next game is just that!

COME ON YOU GUNNERS