plays Manchester City in the League Cup

LONDON -- Arsenal cruised past Sunderland in a 4-1 win Saturday with a brace from the returning Olivier Giroud, allowing the Gunners to keep pace in the Premier League title race and to bounce back from a mid-week Champions League defeat. Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. Tomas Rosickys chip made it 3-0 before half time at Emirates Stadium, while defender Laurent Koscielny scored an unmarked header in the second half. Sunderland scored a late consolation goal with a 25-yard strike by Emanuele Giaccherini. The result leaves Arsenal in second place with 59 points, one behind Chelsea, and Sunderland in the relegation zone in 18th place with 24 points. "We had a very demanding week physically and mentally and we gave the right response today," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. Record signing Mesut Ozil, who missed a penalty in the 2-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday and had an argument with teammate Mathieu Flamini during the match, was sidelined with a thigh injury. Giroud, who had to apologize to his club and family after a British tabloid published photos of a model who allegedly visited his hotel room, made up for lost time against Sunderland. He scored in the fifth minute after nice buildup play between Rosicky and Jack Wilshere led to the goal, with the France forward slotting the ball past Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone. Giroud struck again in the 31st when he intercepted a sloppy back pass from Santiago Vergini intended for Mannone and rolled the ball underneath Arsenals former backup keeper. Giroud now has 12 league goals. "I had no hesitation about his strength of character," Wenger said. "Of course you want him to come back into the team and be successful, which he was today because he scored two goals." Rosicky scored in the 42nd with a chip after a string of one-time passes from his teammates, and Koscielny netted with a free header in the 57th. Sunderlands goal came in the 81st after Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny dealt with a free kick by punching the ball outside the area. It fell to Giaccherini and he unleashed a first-time shot to beat the Poland keeper. Despite losing to Bayern on Wednesday and dropping from the Premier League summit recently after months in first place, Arsenal fans were in high spirits before Saturdays match. The club unveiled a statue to former player Dennis Bergkamp outside the stadium, and Wenger compared Rosickys performance against Sunderland to Bergkamps style. "I am very pleased for Rosicky because today Bergkamp got a statue and I think Rosicky took the Bergkamp role well. Certainly Dennis will have been pleased to have seen him play," he said. In addition to Ozil, Arsenal has a few other injury concerns: Wilshere (hamstring), Koscielny (back) and Nacho Monreal (foot). While Wenger wasnt certain how bad Wilsheres injury was, he said Ozil, Koscielny and Monreal should be available next week. Sunderland plays Manchester City in the League Cup final next weekend and captain John OShea hopes his teammates have learned from the defeat. "Its a wake-up call for us, both in the league and ahead of next weekend," he said. "We have to make sure we look at ourselves individually and collectively, dust ourselves down and go again." Cheap Buffalo Bills Jerseys Online .Y. -- It was as if Matt Moulson never left the New York Islanders. Buffalo Bills Jerseys China . -- The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets will forever be tied together for making the same spectacular misjudgment on budding NBA sensation Jeremy Lin. http://www.cheapbills.us/ . Top-ranked Rafael Nadal was also taken to three sets but emerged with a 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3 win over Tobias Kamke of Germany, while second-seeded David Ferrer joined Murray in making an early exit after a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Daniel Brands of Germany. Buffalo Bills Jerseys Outlet .? It was his second straight start for the Jets; he suffered a 1-0 loss against Minnesota Monday. So this season Hutchinson has now won games in the ECHL, AHL and NHL. He was perfect three- for-three in the shootout to nail down the win. Stitched Buffalo Bills Jerseys .That is precisely what they got Sunday.The Ravens trailed at halftime and never built a comfortable lead against lowly Jacksonville, yet did just enough to squeeze out a 20-12 win to stay in the thick of the AFC playoff race.TORONTO - Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista is making progress from a mild hamstring strain and could return to the lineup this weekend. He missed a three-game series against New York this week after suffering the injury last Sunday while trying to leg out a base hit during a game in Cincinnati. Manager John Gibbons said the plan is for Bautista to have a "light day" Thursday before really testing out the leg Friday with the teams training staff. "Hopefully by the end of the weekend, were hoping he can get out there," Gibbons said. Anthony Gose was slotted to fill in for Bautista in right field on Thursday night against the Chicago White Sox. Bautista could be used as a pinch-hitter at some point in the four-game series but its doubtful that would occur before Saturday. Bautista is batting .305 this season with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs in 77 games. Also Thursday, Gibbons said infielder Steve p;Tolleson "was good to go" after seeing an eye specialist earlier in the day.dddddddddddd Tolleson had been dealing with blurry vision over the last few days, likely due to an allergic reaction to his contact lenses. He was wearing glasses before taking batting practice at Rogers Centre. "They make him look way too smart to be out there," Gibbons joked. The Blue Jays have had a few players go down with injuries of late. Infielder Brett Lawrie was also hurt last Sunday against the Reds, breaking a finger when he was hit by a pitch. Lawrie, from Langley, B.C., will likely be out until at least the all-star break in mid-July. Left-handed reliever Brett Cecil also went on the disabled list last week due to a groin injury. The Blue Jays entered play Thursday with a 1 1/2-game lead on second-place Baltimore in the American League East division standings. Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter. 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