By Boris Mellor
November 6 2005

The Arsenal crowd gave the team a standing ovation at the end of the game. They had not seen a great game and perhaps not a great performance by the Gunners.

 However they had seen the future, and they were excited by it. From the moment Arsene announced that van Persie was starting until he was substituted in the final quarter the crowd were abuzz with expectation. They had also seen three very good goals.

And Van Persie only took 12 minutes to fulfil the crowd's expectations. It’s not often Sol Campbell assists, but it was his long ball out of defence that found RvP facing goal, without any further thought the young Dutchman controlled the ball and just headed straight for goal. As the goalkeeper prepared to come out he just smashed the ball into the back of the net.

Its rare for Arsenal to score such a direct goal, but its simplicity and emphatic execution made it a delight to watch. From that moment on Sunderland were finished and for the most part played as if they knew that to be the truth. For all but seven minutes of the game the Gunners dominated.

But Van Persie is not just a goal scorer; he played an important part in Arsenals second goal it was his first-time flick that sent Lauren racing up the right. Lauren’s inch perfect pass allowed Henry to place his shot at the far post. Thirty-six minutes gone and 2-0 up.

It was Arsenal’s third game in a week and the team contented its self with keeping possession and making chances when they could. They were in cruise control.

However not everything Van Persie did went right, and at least one shot was skied. In the 70 th minute the future was exchanged for the soon to be past, Dennis Bergkamp. On the 75 th minute Arsenal lost concentration allowing a corner to be headed down by Caldwell, with Stubbs poking the ball through the crowded area beating Lehmann. Now Sunderland’s tails were up, they threw caution to the wind and began a wave of all out attacks. It was the first time they had not kept plenty of players behind the ball, Arsenal defended well and you could sense the arrival of the sucker punch.

It wasn’t long in coming, seven minutes to be precise, as the ball broke from yet another Sunderland attack Fabregas gave a lovely through ball to Henry. Henry bore down on goal, but a defender was even closer to the ball, but a cunning little jump over the defender’s legs and over the ball by Thierry left him in pole position. He efficiently scored number 189. Arsenal had shown they could step up a gear when needed. This is what Wenger meant by Arsenal being reborn at Tottenham, the second half had seen them step up a gear. True this time it was only Sunderland, but the Gunners had not managed to step up a gear against WBA. Hopefully that extra va va voom is back, and this time its not just a Frenchman who is providing it.