LONDON --
In the away end at the Emirates on Wednesday hung a St George flag bearing the first part of Sunderland's city motto, "nil desperadum" -- "don't despair." The city motto goes on "auspice deo" or "trust in God." Sunderland's trust, perhaps, is in Dick: Dick Advocaat, the Dutch manager who arrived at a faltering club two months ago and has inspired its rise to a position of safety.
It may not have been pretty -- it may, in truth, have been rather fortunate â but a ninth goalless draw of the season was enough to guarantee Sunderland will not be relegated. That battle, now, is between Hull City and Newcastle United.
For Arsenal, the point was a frustration, but it also ensured it will finish in the top three and not face the distraction of a UEFA Champions League playoff at the start of next season. It may wonder, though, how for the second successive home game, it has failed to break down an opponent that was disciplined and organzied but little ore.
But this was about Advocaat and Sunderland. His eight games in charge have yielded 12 points. More than that, he has reinvigorated a side that had looked doomed and somehow persuaded a defense that let in four at home against Crystal Palace in his third game in charge to conceded only two in the five that have followed. Whether he will stay on beyond the end of the season is unclear. At 67, he has said this will be his final job and the suggestion is even he doesn't know whether he wants the toil of a full season after walking away from the Emirates in tears.
The impact he has had, though, is undeniable. Costel Pantilimon was the hero, making a series of brilliant and often unorthodox saves, but the whole team was tireless; Sebastian Coates was a colossus; Jermain Defoe played as an auxiliary left back as though he'd done it all his life; Lee Cattermole snapped and snarled and kept his discipline and by the end Sebastian Larsson could barely move, so great was the effort he had put in.
Oddly, given perceptions and certain collapses, Sunderland has the joint sixth best defensive record in the division having conceded 23 in 17 games -- a remarkable record given eight of those came in one game at Southampton. Injuries had robbed it of Jordi Gomez and Liam Bridcutt, leading Advocaat to adopt a curious 4-1-4-1 system with two center-forwards -- Connor Wickham and Defoe -- in the midfield line of four. On the right was Adam Johnson, making his first start since being charged with sexual charges with a minor. He appeared in court for a preliminary hearing this week; he will plead not guilty.
Sunderland's approach was summed up by a moment midway through the first half as Patrick van Aanholt, the rapid left back broke clear and surged into space. With Graham marked, he checked back, only to find not other Sunderland player within 40 yards. He ended up rolling the ball back to John O'Shea who turned and gave it straight back to Pantilimon.
Van Aanholt, in fact, was probably Sunderland's brightest attacking player in the first half and it was one of his forward surges after 14 minutes that left space for Alexis Sanchez as Arsenal broke, He burst into the box but was denied by a sprawling tackle from Pantilimon.
The pattern was soon set out: Sunderland defending deep on the edge of its own box and Arsenal passing the ball in front of it, seeking a cranny to slither through. Poor Graham could hardly have been more isolated if he'd been in quarantine. He struggled to make an impression against Per Mertesacker and was replaced at halftime by Steven Fletcher. The ineffective Connor Wickham, sometimes so fluid, do often so lumbering, was also withdrawn, making way for Jack Rodwell.
Before halftime, there were a couple of half-chances for Arsenal, snap-shots that flew over and then, 312 minutes in, a clever chipped pass from Mesut Ozil for Olivier Giroud, who did well to get his body into a position to shoot only to send his volley flashing across the face of goal.
Sunderland created nothing in the first half, but within five minutes of the start of the second it had had two fine chances. First Johnson laid in Fletcher whose shot struck the arm of David Ospina, then the Colombian goalkeeper saved with his legs from Van Aanholt who had run onto a Defoe pass only to scuff his shot. A stretching Fletcher later diverted a driven Van Aanholt just over, but for the most part, though, it was a familiar tale of Arsenal possession and Sunderland resistance.
Pantilimon made a superb reflex block to his right to keep out a first-time shot from Giroud and the big Romanian keeper then stretched his 6'8" horizontal across his goal to hold a Keiran Gibbs header. The game, unpleasantly for Sunderland, opened up. Sebastian Coates, superb once again, flung his body in the way of a Santi Cazorla shot and as Sunderland broke Fletcher's dink was pushed wide by Ospina. The sense, though, was of Sunderland creaking, of the Arsenal assault inevitably wearing it down.
Coates cleared off the line after Theo Walcott had stabbed a shot over Pantiloon, then Billy Jones, the right back, was extremely fortunate to see the ball come back off the post after Coates's attempt to clear a Bellerin cross bounced off the side of his head. Twice more Pantilimon saved form Walcott. It was chaotic and frantic, but Sunderland -- somehow -- held on.
