Viktor Gyokeres came off the bench to score twice against Sunderland on Saturday, sending us nine points clear at the top of the table after Martin Zubimendi had earlier given us a first half lead.
But the visitors made it a testing afternoon for us, with Mikel Arteta bringing on the likes of Gyokeres, Gabriel Martinelli, Eberechi Eze and Piero Hincapie to drive home our advantage in the final half hour.
After making five changes to the side that beat worked so hard to beat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday night, our squad depth was evident again to record our fourth win on the spin on Saturday. The extra injection of power and fresh legs proved vital in the end against a Sunderland side that had given as good as they had given for much of the afternoon.
“I’m very happy because it was a really tough match,” Arteta said afterwards. “They're a good team, they make it so hard for you. They're very good at disrupting the type of game that you want in a really smart way. They're really physical, they're really well coached and it's difficult to find that momentum and threat constantly. We knew that we had to be patient, we unlocked the game with a brilliant finish and action from the team and in particular from Zubi.
“After that, I think we didn't concede anything else in the game. We had to take the game to a different level because the game started to get a bit more open and we brought the finishers in and they were incredible.
“I saw their reaction immediately when I gave the line-up in the dressing room and I looked at Viktor and Gabi,” the boss added.
“They know how important their role is when you come in and some days it’s going to be even more important than starting the game. That's a key message that we've been trying to pass to them. The good thing is that they're experiencing that every single game, every three days, the way we can change games and help the team win. I'm really, really happy for them.”
It was also a good day for the player who has started more league games than any other outfield player for us so far this season – Martin Zubimendi.
The Spanish midfielder superbly guided home our first goal, late in the first half. It was his sixth of the season in all competitions, and the boss admitted he had exceeded his expectations in that respect.
“It's a bit more than I expected, but when you are with him every single day, he really has a special intuition about when to arrive, in which area, with good timing, in and around the box. He has the quality to finish actions in different ways, with different surfaces, and today I think it was a top finish.”
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Every word from Arteta's post-Sunderland presser](https://www.arsenal.com/news/every-word-artetas-post-sunderland-presser-0?utm_source=arsenaldotcom&utm_medium=embedded-article&utm_campaign=news)
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