Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal: 5 talking points

Sunderland were not clinical

Defoe could have scored a goal for Sunderland but was denied by Cech

Sunderland should have scored at least once and could have probably won the game. It did finish 0-0 but the hosts were the better side. Even though Arsenal had a good first half, it was the Black Cats who got the better chances. Khazri, Cattermole, Defoe – all had shots at Petr Cech’s goal but they were not clinical enough to beat the Czech.

It was Khazri who got the ball off Aaron Ramsey and drove to Arsenal’s box, only to get his deflected shot wide of the target. In the latter stages of the first half, Sunderland had enough opportunities to play on the counter, but the likes of Cattermole and Borini could not play the right pass for Defoe and Khazri.

In the second half, Arsenal were contained by the hosts and could only have two shots on target. Had the Black Cats managed to be more clinical in their passing and in the final third, it could have been Sunderland’s game.