FA Premier League
ARSENAL 3 (Zubimendi 42, Gyokeres 66, 90+4)
SUNDERLAND 0

ARSENAL find themselves in a position where if they don’t win the league this season then they will risk going down among sport’s grand chokers, a football Devon Loch – a Jimmy White.

And yet the Premier League table is deceptive: one moment the Gunners look like they are building an unassailable advantage, and then a couple of weeks later the lead feels fragile. Mikel Arteta’s team has felt both emotions in a four-week period in which disappointment against Nottingham Forest and Manchester United has been followed up with authoritative wins.

It could turn one way or another with fixture pile-ups ahead, but stress-free afternoons like today’s victory over Sunderland, the league’s surprise package this season, go a long way to showing the chasers that they are determined not to crack this time.

Nevertheless, it was important to get ahead before half-time to limit those nervous rumbles that can be felt at the Emirates Stadium. It has been a common theme for the sound system and big-screen visuals to whip up a heady atmosphere in the ground, only for the players to start with a measured caution which softens the mood. The statistics show that the Gunners are far heavier scorers in the second half of matches. Patience isn’t necessarily good for these supporters, so desperate to break that two-decade wait for a title.

Sunderland are neat and well-drilled, and deserving of a stability which will not see them follow fellow promoted side Burnley back down into the Championship. The unpredictable forward Brian Brobbey has already shown Arsenal what he can do after scoring a last-second winner in the reverse fixture in the north east earlier in the season. William Saliba picked up a yellow card as he tried to keep his claws on him.

But these flashes of danger became rarer as the match progressed and Arsenal had steady control by the time Martin Zubimendi fired a swish finish in from the edge of the box, the ball spinning in an arc around the goalkeeper to clip the post at just the right angle to divert it into the net.

Earlier, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz had been less fortunate with long-range efforts, but a willingness to shoot without looking for extra passes was appreciated by the home crowd.

Gabriel Jesus, having one of his lost days, thought he had won a penalty after being brought down in a one-on-one chase just before the half-time whistle, but play was brought back for a tight offside. Sunderland came out in the second period with a burst of energy, without really looking like they would get level.

And then Viktor Gyorkeres emerged from the bench. The critics will say he only scores against the division’s weaker teams, but Arsenal have dropped points in previous seasons against these sides and what they have often needed is a centre-forward to do the simple stuff. The Swedish forward did just that, slamming home the second while falling to the ground and then, in the dying seconds, tucking away a breakaway after being fed by the unselfish Gabriel Martinelli. In fact, in this injury-time period, Arsenal suddenly looked like they could score four or five, but this was a reassuring final scoreline regardless.

Arteta was purring at what he had seen – and had special comment for Gyorkeres.

“Viktor, when you look at him, it’s very difficult to understand his emotion because he looks straight at you and you don’t really know, but he doesn’t seem too affected by whether there are really highs or lows and that’s what we need,” he said. “That stability. He’s very demanding of himself, he’s constantly trying to improve and that’s really, really good. When you feel confident, when you feel important, when you feel at your best, that’s when you can really take your game to the highest level. We are all really behind him to try to support him, and he’s delivering and he’s in a really good moment now.”

Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori (Hincapié 67,), Havertz (Eze 67), Zubimendi, Rice, Madueke (Martinelli 60), Gabriel Jesus (Gyökeres 60), Trossard (Norgaard 89)
Subs not used: Kepa, Mosquera, White, Lewis-Skelly

Sunderland: Roefs, Mukiele, Ballard, Alderete, Mandava, Sadiki (Geertruida 71), Le Fée, Hume (Angulo 85), Diarra, Talbi (Mundle 64), Brobbey (Isidor 85)
Subs not used: Ellborg, Cirkin, Rigg, Mayenda, O’Nien