What a finish to the game!

Arsenal went 2-0 down after only 15 minutes, and it looked like it would be a tough night for The Gunners. Arsene Wenger said Ludogorets would look to start strongly and so it proved, as they sucker punched Arsenal and we look shell shocked after the first part of the game.

Our defending looked suspect – for the first goal Ospina was found rooted to his line as Ludogorets sent in a freekick which was converted by Barbosa when really the Arsenal keeper should have come and claimed.

For their second, Kieran Gibbs (who was otherwise excellent) was left on his arse as Cafu’s cross found Keseru in the middle to tap in from close range.

Both goals avoidable and it seemed like the Arsenal of old were coming back to haunt us – that Arsenal who would be on a decent run but then switch off in a game they thought they would easily win and end up stupidly losing.

Fortunately, this season there seems to be some real steel and character amongst the ranks.

Only 5 minutes later Arsenal came up with the perfect response, as the majestic Mesut Özil sent in a cross – most likely intended for Giroud – ended up finding Granit Xhaka in the middle. The Swiss international swept the ball home with a cool finish to give Arsenal a way back into the game.

Aaron Ramsey, who struggled all night, sent in a cross just before half time which Olivier Giroud headed into the net to make things all square going into the break.

After that, there was a lot of sparring while both teams made some half chances.

But then, something magical happened.

On 87 minutes, Arsenal substitute Mohamed Elneny sent through Mesut Özil with a wonderful pass. The German genius saw the Ludogorets keeper fly out and without breaking a sweat flicked the ball over him. Two defenders proceeded to try and stop the midfield maestro but he put them both on their arses as he delivered a series of dummies which bamboozled the defenders and cooly slotted the ball home.

Considering the game was level and a win was massively important, this goal is one of the best I’ve ever seen – and we’ve scored some wonderful goals. The confidence, ability and sheer audacity of the goal was ridiculous and I will (and have) watched the goal over and over again.

A goal of real beauty, deserving to win any football match.

Player Ratings:

David Ospina: 6/10
Struggled at times tonight and on another day, could have cost us dearly.

Carl Jenkinson: 7/10
Solid at the back and supported Ramsey whenever he could. Was a little rusty at times but played well and should be happy with his performance.

Laurent Koscielny: 8/10
Did well alongside Mustafi and looked to up the tempo whenever he could. Couldn’t be blamed for either goal and helped steady the ship once we went 2-0 down.

Shkodran Mustafi: 8/10
Another excellent performance from the German defender, Mustafi has settled well into the Arsenal team and didn’t make any mistakes tonight.

Kieran Gibbs: 8/10
Really taking advantage of Nacho Monreal’s absence and will give Arsene Wenger a real headache once the Spaniard returns. Linked up well with Sanchez on the left and never stopped running.

Francis Coquelin: 8/10
Our most composed midfielder on the night, Coquelin was excellent in keeping the ball moving and was solid in defence.

Granit Xhaka: 7/10
Had a mixed game, looking bright in spells but slightly uncomfortable in others. Took one for the team with his cynical booking (we need more of those) and took his goal really well.

Aaron Ramsey: 6/10
Only started his second game for Arsenal this season and it showed. Took too many touches on the ball which slowed down Arsenal’s tempo which frustrated players such as Özil and Sanchez. A good run out for the Welshman but not his best game.

Mesut Özil: 9/10
What can you say about this man. Mesut makes me happy, and I like being happy. Kept Arsenal moving forward and provided the assist from Xhaka’s vital goal in the first half. Was full of inventive passing and movement and then with 3 minutes of normal time remaining, scored THAT goal. If Messi had scored it, social media would be going mental right now.

Alexis Sanchez: 7/10
Made way for Olivier Giroud in the middle so was played on the left hand side. Did well at times, making things happen with his running and through balls but didn’t look great on the left. Arsene Wenger was probably hoping the Giroud-Alexis combination would have worked better.

Olivier Giroud: 7/10
Just back from injury, Giroud did well in spells and scored the equalising goal. 3 goals in 110 minutes is a good return and his form will be giving Arsene Wenger a real selection headache.

Arsenal were the weekends early kick off and travelled to Sunderland for a game we were expected to win comfortably, and although it turned out like that in the end, it was far from straight forward.

Sunderland are one of those teams that always struggle and are always fighting against relegation. David Moyes is a manager I don’t rate and it seems as if he’s ran out of ideas at Sunderland. Arsenal would top the league for a few hours at least with a win, and for 60 minutes it looked like we were heading for a routine win. But Arsenal fans by now know that a routine win is never on the cards!

Alexis Sanchez scored the only goal of the first half – a fantastic diving header from an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain cross. The first 45 minutes were what you would expect – Sunderland are lacking in any kind of confidence and were more than happy to sit back, keep the lines tight and suffocate Arsenal – keeping themselves in the game so they could nick a goal. Arsenal had plenty of possession but it was difficult to get through. We had a couple of decent openings, the best when Mesut Özil floated a beautiful ball over the top, only for Oxlade-Chamberlain to flash wide. You would have thought he would have done a bit better with the chance, considering his hot streak.

As it stood, we went into the half time break 1-0 up, and that’s always a dangerous scoreline.

The after the hour it all sparked into life. Alexis Sanchez was singled out for rough treatment all game and when his burst of pace saw him pass the Sunderland defender he was brought down. I didn’t need to see a replay of the incident as it was a stone wall penalty and I said so at the time. Replays did show it was a clear penalty but Martin Atkinson (who had a poor game) waved play on. I was still screaming at the television when suddenly down the other end a mistake by Mustafi lead to Arsenal conceding a penalty.

No arguments about the decision, and Petr Cech couldn’t have done anything about it after being put in a difficult situation. What we could feel aggrieved by though was the awful decision not to award Sanchez a penalty for a clear foul in the box moments earlier.

Jermaine Defoe stepped up and levelled the game. You had that sinking feeling that Arsenal had shot themselves in the foot once again and would be leaving the Stadium of Light win a point instead of all three. But then Arsene brought on Olivier Giroud.

Alexis Sanchez is Arsenal’s main striker this season and Arsene has opted to go with pace on either side, with Mesut Özil just in behind pulling the strings. It is a system that has worked really well this season, and wide options include Theo Walcott, Alex Iwobi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (as well as Lucas Perez before his unfortunate injury). This has left Olivier Giroud out in the cold (even though he’s been injured) but he really stepped up this afternoon!

He scored with his first touch, a lovely sweeping finish with his left foot from a Kieran Gibbs cross and then 5 minutes later he scored a trademark header from a Mesut Özil corner.

That put Arsenal in the driving seat and then Alexis Sanchez put the icing on the cake with another, giving Arsenal a 4-1 win in the process.

It was an excellent introduction from Olivier Giroud, and his impact on the game will certainly give Arsene Wenger a big headache. Although it could be argued that Olivier Giroud is Arsenal’s perfect Plan B – something we haven’t had at our disposal in a long long time.

And finally a word on Kieran Gibbs, who was fantastic today. Obviously he lost his place to Nacho Monreal a while ago but he’s kept his head down, worked hard and never moaned once about it. Then when he gets his chance he’s put in two excellent performances. It was his brilliant cross that Olivier Giroud scored the goal which put Arsenal back into the lead – and what an important goal that was.

From what I’ve seen Kieran Gibbs is a completely nice, down-to-earth guy and he really is a role model to young professionals. And clearly Gibbs has given Arsene something else to think about!