Sunderland secured their place in the Premier League for another season at least courtesy of a 0-0 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium this evening.
Both sides squandered chances in the second half, while Billy Jones was saved from scoring an own goal by the woodwork as the Black Cats held on for the point they needed.
Here, Sports Mole looks at who impressed during an absorbing clash in North London.
© Getty Images
ARSENAL
Goal
David Ospina: Out quickly twice in the first half and made three big saves to deny Fletcher and Van Aanholt in the second. Had long spells with nothing to do but, when called upon, he stepped up. (8/10)
Defence
Hector Bellerin: Started the match brightly before Defoe switched on defensively, and was then involved in a fascinating battle with Van Aanholt. Whipped a few fine balls into the box, while most of Arsenal's best moments stemmed from his side. (7/10)
Laurent Koscielny: Survived a handball appeal in the second half that could have resulted in a red card. Read the game well and kept Graham under wraps, but had a trickier time with Fletcher. (6/10)
Per Mertesacker: Another who had no problems dealing with Graham but had his hands full against Fletcher. A solid enough showing, even if his lack of pace was exposed a couple of times when Sunderland broke. (6/10)
Kieran Gibbs: Tested Pantilimon with one header, but unable to pose as much of a threat as Bellerin on the other side. Arsenal favoured attacking down the right flank tonight. (6/10)
Midfield
Santi Cazorla: Acted as the deep-lying playmaker once again and helped Arsenal to dominate possession. Perhaps could have got his side moving quicker on a few occasions, but a classy showing nonetheless. (7/10)
Aaron Ramsey: Tidy in the middle of the park but nothing spectacular from the Welshman. Picked up the game's only booking with a rash challenge in the first half. (6/10)
Jack Wilshere: Back in the starting lineup for the first time in six months and looked like he'd never been away in the first half. Created two good chances for his teammates with clever chipped balls forward and also had a couple of efforts of his own. Tired in the second half before being brought off, but impressed during his time on the field. (7/10)
Mesut Ozil: Played a few nice passes but ultimately could not pick a hole in the Sunderland defence. His shooting was wayward too, blazing one particularly good chance over in the first half. (6/10)
Alexis Sanchez: Matched the work rate of the Sunderland players, but simply could not find a way past the wall of blue in front of him. Unable to come up with a moment of magic to make the difference. (6/10)
Attack
Olivier Giroud: Came close with a couple of smart efforts, but was usually surrounded by eight or nine blue shirts. Now seven games without a goal. (6/10)
Substitutes
Theo Walcott: Replaced Wilshere with a little more than 20 minutes to go and made a difference with an extra injection of pace on the flank. Found himself denied by Pantilimon on more than one occasion, though. (7/10)
Tomas Rosicky: Only had the final nine minutes but almost made the difference with a beautiful give-and-go to Walcott before firing his shot wide. (7/10)
© Getty Images
SUNDERLAND
Goal
Costel Pantilimon: Only had routine saves to deal with in the first half but made a string of magnificent stops in the second to keep Arsenal out. The man of the match. (8/10)
Defence
Billy Jones: Fortunate to see the ball bounce off his own woodwork after a cross had hit him in the head. Stuck with Sanchez defensively throughout and gave little away. (7/10)
John O'Shea: Led by example at the heart of defence as Sunderland refused to let Arsenal through. Gave everything for the cause, and inspired those around him to do the same. (8/10)
Sebastian Coates: Threw himself in the way of everything, making a host of important blocks and clearing one Walcott effort off the line. Didn't switch off for one second. (8/10)
Patrick van Aanholt: Involved in a great battle with Bellerin down his flank. Left too much space behind him at times, but his eagerness to get forward helped Sunderland pose a threat on the break and he missed one fine chance to score in the second half. Another impressive showing. (7/10)
Midfield
Sebastian Larsson: Like everyone around him, worked his socks off for the team and didn't stop running until the final whistle as Sunderland's stubbornness paid off. (7/10)
Lee Cattermole: There can't be many players you'd rather have when involved in a real scrap at the bottom. A typically combative display in the middle of the park and avoided the booking that would have seen him banned for three games. (7/10)
Adam Johnson: Played one clever pass into Fletcher in the second half, but aside from that was unable to influence proceedings in possession. Mainly added another body for Sunderland to get behind the ball. (6/10)
Attack
Connor Wickham: Could not make his mark on the game at all in the first half, failing to provide the link between midfield and attack before being taken off at the break. (5/10)
Danny Graham: Isolated as the first half wore on and given the thankless task of taking on the Arsenal defence alone, but still didn't offer enough. Replaced by Fletcher at the break, and the sub showed Graham how to do it. (4/10)
Jermain Defoe: Has shown a different side to his game in recent weeks, being forced into a lot of defending on the flank. Still not a natural in that regard and fell asleep a few times today, but he is improving. (6/10)
Substitutes
Jack Rodwell: Replaced Wickham at half time and offered a lot more bite in midfield, handing Sunderland extra protection for the defence. (7/10)
Steven Fletcher: Immeasurably more threatening than Graham on the counter-attack, but will be disappointed not to have scored any of the three clear chances that fell his way. (7/10)
Will Buckley: Came on for Johnson with 15 minutes remaining and offered some fresh legs to relieve pressure and keep Arsenal at bay. (6/10)
Barney Corkhill
