Arsenal Analysed: Keys to our Sunderland success | Analysis | News

We maintained our six-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a convincing 3-0 home win over Sunderland on Saturday.

Martin Zubimendi opened the scoring in style as half-time approached, before Viktor Gyokeres’ second-half brace closed out the three points in N5.

Analyst Adrian Clarke scoured the footage to find out exactly what made us so clinical:

find the reserve midfielder

One of the key tactical patterns in this game was how we allowed Declan Rice or Martin Zubimendi to become our ‘reserve man’ in the final third.

By pushing many players into the Sunderland penalty area, including left back Riccardo Calafiori (circled), we occupied almost all of the blue shirts when the ball was in wide positions.

As shown below, Leandro Trossard then managed to draw two opponents towards him as Sunderland opted to cover for their right back Nordi Mukiele, who was facing a 1v1.

This allowed Declan Rice to be free in shooting range, and from this move he whistled his shot inches past the top corner.

A few minutes later we produced an almost identical situation, but this time it led to our crucial first goal.

On this occasion, when Sunderland decided to double the stake on Trossard, it was Martin Zubimendi who remained free.

With a beautifully weighted pass, the Spaniard struck the ball first time, crossing the ball to deflect an unerring strike off the post.

Tireless excellence in midfield

Playing as a duo, balancing each other beautifully in terms of box-to-box impact, it was central midfielders Zubimendi and Declan Rice who laid the foundations for this comfortable victory.

They took turns communicating very well and each largely (but not exclusively) stuck to their position, with Rice left of center and the Spaniard on the right.

They both made three interceptions, reading the game beautifully whenever we lacked possession; and between them the duo also won possession 13 times.

Rice (54) completed more accurate passes than anyone, while Zubimendi completed 47 of his 51 pass attempts, moving the ball with ease and effortless excellence.

The duo also worked tirelessly to win three big points.

Zubimendi’s impressive distance of 11.45 km was the farthest covered by anyone in the field.

two on top?

From a tactical perspective, this was as close to a 4-4-2 formation as we’ve seen from Mikel Arteta in over a year.

Kai Havertz was essentially a supporting striker for Gabriel Jesus and then Viktor Gyokeres, but for much of this encounter it was difficult to differentiate between the German’s role and that of center forward.

Choosing to only move to midfield on sporadic occasions to link play, Havertz stayed high, allowing the team to play a little more directly.

Whenever the ball was on the wings, he also made sure it was inside the danger zone while trying to get to the end of a delivery.

He did it in the first minute, heading a magnificent cross from Leandro Trossard on the right wing.

When you study our average position map from the Sunderland match, it really looks like a 4-4-2…

Touching the ball seven times in the opponent’s box (a team high) and making three shots (a joint high), Havertz has certainly made an impact on things in this more advanced position.

Creating the second key goal, scored by Gyokeres, he impressed.

the trend towards fewer passes continues

Few would have expected us to enjoy less than 50% possession at home to newly promoted Sunderland, but that was the case on Saturday afternoon.

Our successful pass count of 389 was actually the fourth lowest we have recorded in 25 Premier League matches.

This follows surprisingly low distribution levels against Leeds United and Manchester United in our previous two matches.

It seems the focus right now is on getting the ball into advanced areas a little quicker than we did at times in 2025/26.

Taking opposing rearguards by surprise with earlier attacking intent, rather than showing a lot of patience in an attempt to wear them down, should in theory help Gyokeres’ style of play flourish.

So perhaps it’s no coincidence that the Swede has scored six goals so far in 2026, the most of any Premier League player in all competitions.

built to counter

There is a boldness about Sunderland, who like to take players forward every time they take center stage.

Although this makes them dangerous, especially on second balls, they can sometimes be left light behind.

Part of our game plan seemed to be to hurt them that way on breakaways.

This ploy fitted well with our low possession tactics, meaning many of our best chances came from counter-attacks.

In this example (below), David Raya stopped a rare shot on target during the first half, before instantly throwing the ball to Havertz in space…

With Sunderland tense and backpedaling, he carried the ball half the length of the pitch before curling a shot just wide of the far top corner.

Gabriel Jesus was also exceptionally unlucky not to earn the Gunners a penalty on another classic breakaway.

After fending off a long free kick from the visiting keeper, the ball was hooked to Trossard, who in turn slipped a pass to Havertz, who released Jesus with an elegant through ball.

The smallest of offside decisions was against the Brazilian, but the way we penetrated Sunderland was extremely impressive…

In added time we sealed this great victory with another brilliant goal at the break.

On this occasion, Christian Norgaard’s clearance fell to Gabriel Martinelli, who did remarkably well to get the ball past the last defender, Reinildo, before generously teeing off Gyokeres for a tap-in.

Our two-goal hero deserves credit for the way he stayed in play as Martinelli headed towards goal.

Gyokeres changed his stride at the last moment to stay behind the ball, and that intelligence was rewarded with the easier finish.

When we look at this match today, the approach chosen by the managers was perfectly suited to this match.

The timing of his changes in the second half also gave the team new momentum at the right time.

It was a professional, calm and thoughtful performance.