Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal: WOW! What a point! James Copley and Phil Smith react at the Stadium of Light
Richard Keys claims Sunderland’s hoarding switch may have ‘endangered’ Arsenal players despite no rules being broken
Richard Keys has claimed Sunderland may have “endangering” Arsenal players by moving their advertising hoardings closer to the pitch during the 2–2 draw at the Stadium of Light – despite admitting no rules were broken.
Speaking on beIN Sports, Keys said the Black Cats’ decision to narrow the space for throw-ins was “smart” but questioned whether it brought players too close to the perimeter. “Sunderland did not commit an offence of any kind,” he said. “What they did was moved the hoardings in with the idea being stop Arsenal using long throws.
“It’s very clear the purpose of having done that, as long as there’s a metre between the touchline and the hoarding. But in a time where we’ve recently had a fatality because of the proximity of a concrete wall, and I know it’s entirely different, I just looked at that yesterday and it looked a bit close for me.
“That might be endangering the well-being of those on the football pitch. I know there’s a meeting at Arsenal tomorrow to discuss. No rules have been broken, Sunderland are well within their rights, but I’m not sure. On the one hand, it’s very smart, it’s a talking point and it did go unnoticed by Arsenal, and it was a subject of conversation after they’d left the ground yesterday, so we’ll wait for developments on that.”
Arsenal appeared frustrated during the game by the reduced run-up space for their long-throw routines – something Mikel Arteta’s side have used effectively in recent months. Asked after the match whether Sunderland had moved the boards deliberately, head coach Régis Le Bris responded with a smile. “Yeah, we tried to find the details to win the game,” he said. “They are really strong on set-pieces, we were good as well. It was absolutely obvious this threat was really important for this game, and in the end it was balanced.”
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Sunderland remain unbeaten at home this season, with Brian Brobbey’s 94th-minute equaliser earning a dramatic point against the league leaders. Arsenal player Eberechi Eze, though, shrugged it off. “I can’t say I noticed,” he said. “It's probably the guys who were taking the throw-ins noticed. But these are some of the things that you have to deal with in the Premier League. We are proud of what we did, and we know what we're capable of. We're going to keep building.”
Despite the frustration, Eze echoed Mikel Arteta’s message after full-time – that Arsenal’s level remained “serious” and that few teams would take points away from Wearside this season. “The message is that we did what we needed to do,” he said. “To put in the performance that we did is serious. Not many teams will get points here. We keep our heads on, keep better perspective and know that we're going to come back from the international break top of the league, and we've got to keep going and keep pushing.”
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