Arsenal: Aaron Ramsey happy to be playing through the middle following Sunderland win

Aaron Ramsey has expressed his happiness at being back in central midfield from where he can orchestrate the play and also move forward to get into goalscoring positions. The chance came the Welshman's way following injuries to Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla, who are both on a prolonged layoff following damage to their knee ligaments.

The Welshman had a productive game against Sunderland, scoring one goal and making the other, but could have had a couple more if he had managed to keep more composure in the final third. A brilliant overhead pass from Mesut Ozil saw him try an acrobatic flip and was presented with an easier chance later in the game which he hit straight at the goalkeeper. The midfielder also failed to hit the target very late in the first half which would have given the Gunners the lead and the momentum going into the second period.

Ramsey was shunted to the wings this season, with Cazorla and Coquelin holding fort in the middle of the park. The former Cardiff man had previously expressed his discontentment at being used in that role but will now have to prove his worth should the Gunners have any chance of getting a solid grip on the race for the title.

"It felt really good today. I feel a lot more comfortable and it suited my game a lot better, I could time my runs into the box and get on the end of things and I could have had two or three goals but at the end of the day I'm happy," Ramsey told Arsenal's official website when asked about his experience through the middle.

"It was very important to get the win after losing one game and drawing another and it was important to get back to winning ways and close the gap on the top and it was nice to do it at home in front of the fans," he added.