Bobby Gardiner was at the Stadium of Light armed with our award-winning analysis tool Stats Zone as the Gunners impressed…
For a moment, it all seemed very typically ‘Arsenal’. After dominating the first half against Sunderland and looking under no real threat at the beginning of the second, a questionable passage of defending from the Gooners ended with Petr Cech bringing Duncan Watmore down for a penalty, one that Jermain Defoe dutifully scored.
Given the events of seasons past, you could be forgiven for thinking the match had already ended, the next 35 minutes of the match bound to be a replay of the frustrating attempts from Arsenal to rescue the points that they deserved in a way we had all become accustomed to.