February 07, (THEWILL) — Viktor Gyökeres scored twice as Arsenal defeated Sunderland 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, extending their lead at the top of the English Premier League to nine points.
The victory enabled the Gunners to set a new top-flight record of 44 consecutive home matches without defeat against sides promoted from the Championship.
Mikel Arteta’s team took time to impose themselves on the contest, with the visitors settling well during the opening exchanges.
Sunderland nearly took a surprise lead inside the first 10 minutes when goalkeeper David Raya fumbled a Trai Hume free-kick, only for Kai Havertz to block Brian Brobbey’s follow-up attempt.
The deadlock was broken before half-time when Martín Zubimendi struck a powerful low shot inside the near post, his second opening goal in successive league matches.
The second half brought a more decisive performance from the hosts. Substitute Gyökeres doubled the advantage just over an hour into the match, converting despite losing his footing after collecting a pass from Havertz.
The Swedish striker added a third in stoppage time, finishing a swift counter-attack initiated by Gabriel Martinelli’s pace and delivery, marking the first time he has found the net in back-to-back league matches.
The result marked the north London club’s 14th consecutive match without defeat against Sunderland in all competitions.
For the Black Cats, it was only their third loss in 10 league outings this season, though they have not won away at the Emirates since 1983.
Régis Le Bris’s side had competed well for large periods but could not contain the division’s strongest second-half performers after the interval.
Arsenal now move closer to ending a league title drought stretching back to 2004, whilst Sunderland will look to regroup ahead of their next fixture.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
