Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey continued his strong run of form at the Emirates Stadium
Though it proved to be a chastening afternoon for Sunderland at Arsenal, there were some positives for the Black Cats to take from the defeat.
They produced a spirited performance in the main and were firmly in the contest for the most part, undone by a moment of individual brilliance from Martin Zubimendi in the first half and the strength of Arsenal's bench in the second. The hosts were ultimately worthy winners but head coach Régis Le Bris said afterwards that the feeling was very different to recent defeats at Brentford and West Ham United.
There was another obvious positive for Le Bris, with Brian Brobbey producing another strong performance leading the line for the Black Cats. An impressive display from the 24-year-old continued a good run of form, a huge boost for Sunderland as they look to kick on between now and the end of the campaign.
"I agree, he was good once again," Le Bris said.
"It was a big fight with the two centre backs, often on the edge. Even though we know his style is really physical, I think we might help him with the decisions sometimes. But I really appreciated his game and the connection with his team mates as well, now we have this target to break a pressing line. It's really useful for our game and now we need to keep going."
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What Régis Le Bris said about Sunderland's performance in Arsenal defeat
"We showed character and personality with and without the ball," Le Bris said of Sunderland's performance.
"It was the game we expected. We knew Arsenal were really well rounded and have the ability to be impactful from set-pieces and especially after the counter press. We lost two balls and conceded two goals.
"It doesn't mean our game wasn't good. Especially at the beginning of the second half we had a couple of opportunities to be back in the game. We didn't seize those opportunities and against an opponent like Arsenal if you don't seize those few opportunities, the game is gone.
“Our reaction to their goal was good,” Le Bris added.
“I was happy with that and with the quality of our football.
“We are still a newly promoted side against maybe the best team in Europe at the minute. They've built this team over many years. We're not at the same stage and we have to take the lesson. It's important to build on strong foundations and improve those details.
“It's always harder away. The crowd is really useful to generate and sustain momentum. We use it at home which is a big advantage because of the identity of the club and connection with our fans. Away we don't have exactly the same support and the opponent has. But overall today is a good step for our progression. It's a defeat, we have to accept that, but we can move forward.”
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