Aaron Ramsey impressed and Olivier Giroud scored at both ends as Arsenal moved second in the Premier League with a 3-1 win over gutsy Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium.

Back in central midfield in place of the injured Santi Cazorla, Ramsey impressed by posting something of a chalk and cheese display compared with his wide-role performances this season.

The Welshman set up Giroud - whose earlier own goal cancelled out Joel Campbell's opener - on 63 minutes and then secured the points in the dying stages.

Duncan Watmore impressed for the Black Cats on a day where they could and perhaps should have left the capital with something better than a defeat.

Here, Sports Mole looks at who stood out for the right and wrong reasons in North London.

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Goal

Petr Cech: Pulled off some fine saves in a week in which he was praised by his manager Arsene Wenger. (7/10)

Defence

Hector Bellerin: Struggled big time with Watmore and, somewhat inexplicably, looked far more interested in attacking than defending. (4/10)

Per Mertesacker: The big German was solid overall with the exception of one or two hairy moments. (6/10)

Laurent Koscielny: Did not allow Fletcher any breathing space whatsoever, but conceded the silly free kick which led to Giroud's own goal. (5/10)

Nacho Monreal: Like Bellerin, shirked his defensive duties to some extent, but recovered brilliantly more often than not. (6/10)

Midfield

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Anonymous for the duration of his 60-minute spell, before being replaced by Walcott. (4/10)

Mathieu Flamini: Very sloppy in possession and made a host of needless sliding tackles which resulted in Sunderland counter-attacks. (4/10)

Aaron Ramsey: At the heart of everything that Arsenal did in the final third and made the game safe late on. Also provided the assist for Arsenal's second. Man of the match. (8/10)

Mesut Ozil: Very poor up until his wonderful assist for Campbell's opener. He had those usual moments of brilliance, but his final ball was lacking overall. (6/10)

Joel Campbell: Opened the scoring with an assured finish, but looked on the periphery of the game more times than not. (6/10)

Attack

Olivier Giroud: Scored the own goal, but made amends by nodding Arsenal into the lead midway through the second period. (6/10)

Substitutes

Theo Walcott: Had plenty of time to make an impact but saw very little of the ball in what was his first appearance since October. (4/10)

Goal

Costel Pantilimon: Slightly suspect for the first goal due to a hint of hesitation, but did nothing wrong after that. (5/10)

Defence

John O'Shea: Refused to give Giroud an inch in which to hurt Sunderland and, as a result, he didn't. (7/10)

Sebastien Coates: Solid if unspectacular from the big Uruguayan, who could have done better for the third goal, though the game was effectively over. (5/10)

Younes Kaboul: Looked more than a match for Giroud in the first half, but then lost the run of his compatriot for Arsenal's second. (5/10)

Midfield

DeAndre Yedlin: Somewhat guilty for the first goal after failing to track Campbell, and contributed very little at the other end. (5/10)

Yann M'Vila: Fizzed in the wonderful free kick which led to Giroud's own goal, and sat in front of the back three in a disciplined and solid manner. (7/10)

Ola Toivonen: Replaced Lee Cattermole, but Toivonen lacked the midfield presence and physicality of the Black Cats skipper. (4/10)

Duncan Watmore: The 21-year-old continues to impress as he caused Bellerin plenty of problems. He was the only Sunderland player who looked like making something happen. (7/10)

Patrick Van Aanholt: Missed a glorious chance late on to snatch a point. (5/10)

Attack

Fabio Borini: Fluffed his lines in an early one-on-one with Cech for a miss that effectively set the tone for his afternoon. (4/10)

Steven Fletcher: Anonymous in both halves as Koscielny man-handled him each and every time Fletcher found himself in possession. (4/10)

Written by
Shane Callaghan