Viktor Gyokeres scored twice as Arsenal comfortably beat Sunderland to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to nine points.
The Gunners looked like they were going to be frustrated by a well organised Sunderland defence before Martin Zubimendi’s excellent strike beat Robin Roefs, after hitting the post.
Sunderland did cause problems, with Brian Brobbey unsettling the Arsenal backline with his physicality and the forward had a shot cleared off the line by Kai Havertz after keeper David Raya fumbled a long ball into the area.
Declan Rice and Havertz went close with curling strikes before substitute Viktor Gyokeres slammed the ball into the net after being teed up by Havertz in the 66th minute.
The Swedish international then finished into an empty net in stoppage time after Gabriel Martinelli rolled the ball across the box to him.
After Aston Villa’s draw with Bournemouth and Manchester City not in action until Sunday afternoon, the victory adds more pressure on Arsenal’s title rivals.
No team in the Premier League has won more points at home this season than the 32 by Arsenal, and nobody has conceded fewer goals than their eight which is a big reason why the Gunners are in such a commanding position in the table
Arsenal were without injured duo Bukayo Saka and captain Martin Odegaard but Mikel Arteta’s side produced a disciplined performance to register a ninth home win from 12 games.
The reliable Zubimendi, who has played the most minutes of any of Arsenal’s outfield players this season, opened the scoring with his fifth league goal.
And there are signs that forward Gyokeres, who came off the substitutes’ bench, is finding his feet after a difficult start.
Six of his eight league goals this season have come against the newly promoted sides, with these two against Sunderland adding to three against Leeds and one against Burnley.
Arsenal have found it hard to break down these type of teams in the past and with Gyokeres now scoring six goals in his past eight appearances in all competitions, the forward’s form looks to be coming at the right time for the Gunners.
This type of game is not going to define what has already been an excellent season for Sunderland.
The Black Cats have been one of the surprise packages of the Premier League season and showed why they are being talked about as one of the sides who could qualify for Europe.
They were extremely well organised in the first half, restricting the amount of opportunities that the Gunners had while offering a threat at the other end of the pitch before Zubimendi’s strike.
But Arsenal were able to grind down Sunderland, with the quality options they are able to introduce from the substitutes’ bench making a big difference.
Sunderland did have chances but, ultimately, the gap in quality was too big on this occasion.
What next?
Arsenal visit Brentford in the Premier League on Thursday (20:00 GMT), while Sunderland host Liverpool on Wednesday (20:15).
BBC Sports
