09/02/2026 - Arsenal 3-0 Sunderland “No Drama, No Doubt: Arsenal Dispatch Sunderland with Ease”
Another game ticked off with a win, a thoroughly professional performance against a strong Sunderland side who managed to take two points off us earlier in the season. The media had cooked up a storm the past week after our Carabao Cup semi-final victory over Chelsea, with Havertz the 60-million-pound man coming back to haunt them once again. It really was a great week for Arsenal a place in the final booked for March 22nd and the gap maintained to six points at the top. After Villa dropped more points with a draw against Brighton, they are now nine points behind with Man United chasing them down. Man City managed to overturn Liverpool at Anfield and pick up some extra momentum, the title race is well and truly on.
Focusing on Arsenal though we scored three open play goals and kept a clean sheet, our 13th of the season. With the news that Mikel Merino will be out until the end of the season and both Odegaard and Saka out for a couple weeks our squad depth was on full display against Sunderland. With Havertz and Madueke stepping up they really helped take the game to Sunderland. Havertz had a guilt-edge chance 40 seconds into the game that he really should’ve done better with, but he also saved Raya’s blushes at the other end, clearing Brobbey’s effort off the line. The most pleasing thing about this win though, beyond the scoreline, was how utterly routine it felt. Arsenal of old would have found a way to make this awkward, a scrappy 1-0, a nervy final ten minutes, which we have still had cases of even this season. But this version of Arsenal we saw on Saturday, even with half the midfield in the treatment room and two of our most important creators unavailable, simply handled their business. No fuss, no drama, just the top of‑the‑table side dispatching a mid‑table one.
There were some quality performances on Saturday, as usual the defence was on point. Califiori looked a touch off the pace but after some time on the sidelines that’s to be expected. In midfield Zubimendi was immense, not just his goal but his control of the game. He continually manages to make the game look like its being played in slow motion. Alongside Rice, they make a brilliant partnership, one of the best in Europe, no doubt. In the attacking areas I thought we struggles for periods of the game, Trossard did well and provided some threat but both Madueke and Jesus struggled to get into the game and make a real impact. Arteta made the perfect changes in bringing on Martinelli and Gyokores who both made an impact off the bench. Gyokores with two goals taking his Premier League goal tally to eight and League top scorer in 2026. He took his first goal expertly and with growing confidence. To my surprise Sunderland weren’t content to come and park the bus, they made many attempts to play out and build some momentum but, in all honesty, they just couldn’t match our intensity in attack and defence. The second goal settled us massively; it seemed as if the pressure dropped off and we started controlling things more consistently. The third goal topped the game off, another confidence booster for our no.14 and more great play from Martinelli, we’ve seen him use his pace like this time and again. It’s nice to see Gyokores hit some form, maybe its due to the pressure for that starting place or maybe its just gaining more of an understanding of how he needs to play in our system. Whatever the answer is the goals are starting to flow and that’s all that matters.
So, another busy couple of weeks with Brentford on Thursday evening before Wigan in the FA cup on Sunday. Brentford have been in fantastic form and will be no pushovers. They are well drilled by Keith Andrews, and they are massively dangerous in attack. We will need some more of what we showed on Saturday to beat them and continue our march to May. With our double Premier League game week due to the Carabao Cup final we will have played a game more than everyone else after we play Wolves next week. We will be a game ahead of City until the end of April, you would think that works in our favour, but who knows, it will make things looks even more in our control but for that we must keep winning. I’m away next week so I will catch up with you after Wolves next Wednesday, let’s hope that’s with three wins in the bag and no more injuries. COYG
The Northbank Blogger.
Match Ratings:
Raya 6/10
Timber 8/10
Saliba 8/10
Gabriel 7/10
Califiori 5/10
Zubimendi 9/10
Rice 8/10
Havertz 7/10
Madueke 6.5/10
Jesus 6/10
Trossard 8.5/10
Subs:
Eze 7/10 Hincapie 7/10
Gyokores 9/10 Norgaard N/A
Martinelli 8.5/10
Comments