Mikel Arteta reflected on a 3-0 win for **Arsenal**against Sunderland.
The Gunners knew that it would not be an easy challenge against an opponent with whom they drew 2-2 at the **Stadium of Light**in November. But they consolidated their lead at the top of the Premier League table thanks to a late first half strike from Martin Zubimendi and a Viktor Gyokeres brace.
Having controlled the controllables, Arsenal can now watch the fixture between **Liverpool**and **Man City**in peace while Aston Villa have already dropped more points in a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.
“Very, very happy obviously with the win, with big parts of the performance, with the clean sheet as well, because it's a really tough opponent.
*“There is an opponent on the level in the Premier League, honestly, Sunderland, they are a top side and make it so hard for you, and that's the level. If they raise it, you have to raise it again and try to find those margins to win, but the differences are not that big.*
“They're really good at what they do, really good at breaking play, playing to the last line, breaking your press, holding the ball, and it's very difficult to get sequences with threat and momentum consecutively. But we knew that, I think the first goal really helped to unlock that kind of phase, and then again, the finishers, they came on the pitch and immediately they had a huge impact.
*“We still have to win so many games to achieve what we want. So, there's no focus on that, that's something else. We've done our job now, we've had what we have to do, so I assess that, try to improve it and get ready for Brentford.*
“I'm going to have a beautiful dinner tonight. Tomorrow, I start to prepare Brentford because it's going to be a really tough one and, in the meantime, for sure, I will be watching a big, big game.”