A brace from Alexis Sanchez was enough to give the Gunners a comfortable win and send them into fifth spot. Once the Gunners took the lead thanks to an error from Wes Brown, they never really looked in any trouble. Although the home side started to pile on the pressure in the final 15 minutes, the Chilean scored again to make the scoreline more comfortable. Defeat meant that Sunderland lost their unbeaten home record this season and leaves them just one point and one place above the last relegation spot, which is currently held by Newcastle United, who have a game in hand against Tottenham on Sunday.
Here are the major talking points from the game.
1. Injury crisis has left the defence down to the bare bones
If there was one thing that Arsenal were crying out for over the summer, it was a commanding centre back. Although they managed to sneak into the Champions League last season, they still had problems at the back and with the sale of Thomas Vermaelen, it was even more crucial that Wenger went out and signed a few defenders. But the Frenchman didn’t and the Gunners look as though they might be paying for over the next few weeks.
The North London side started the season with just six senior defenders, which is nowhere near enough for a side that is supposed to be challenging for the League. Injuries to Mathieu Debuchy and Laurent Koscielny meant that they went into the game against the Black Cats with an out-of-favour left back playing in the heart of defence. Kieran Gibbs’ hip injury now means that they will now have count on youngsters until January, which is the earliest, the club can sign an established defender to fill in at the back. Although they were hardly test at the Stadium of Light, tougher tests lie ahead and Wenger must be ruing his decision to not sign more defenders in the summer.