Arsenal beats Sunderland 3-1 to halt winless run in Premier League

But Allardyce believes that if the other attacking options in Sunderland’s ranks can contribute with meaningful goal tallies, then the Black Cats will ensure their Premier League survival.

It was enough to have the man compensate for his errors by heading in a go-ahead goal in the early moments of the second half. “It is very frustrating”. Campbell didn’t do much apart from that, but he should get a few more chances and if he keeps on scoring, he could well be at Arsenal next season as well.

“But we didn’t bring our shooting boots and we ended up losing the game”.

“Santi wanted to have a chance to come back quickly so he didn’t want to last too long for 25 opinions and he chose to go straight away”, Wenger added.

Allardyce, who will be without injured duo Sebastian Larsson and Jermain Defoe, said: “I’ve never won at Arsenal with any of my teams – drawn a few, but never won”.

Predicted Line-ups (4-2-3-1): Cech; Monreal, Paulista, Mertesacker, Bellerin; Ramsey, Flamini; Chamberlain, Ozil, Campbell; Giroud. But it was Ozil dictating play and produced a 12th assist in 14 league games when he angled an inch-perfect pass into the path of Campbell, who slotted a low shot past Costel Pantilimon.

Sunderland deservedly levelled through a free-kick that Giroud deflected into his own net. “Self-discipline as an individual and as a team”, Allardyce said.

As Fletcher arrived at the back post from a corner, Cech moved across his goal to stop the ball virtually on the line. Signing the big goalkeeper from Chelsea has proved vital for Arsenal this season.

Aspiring champions prove their credentials by responding well to setbacks, though, and Arsenal deserve credit for digging in to secure all three points after the break. After a hard week, a victory was arguably all that mattered, and it came with the bonus of seeing Theo Walcott make his return from injury off the bench.

The Gunners were mostly in control now, yet still allowed a final gilt-edged chance to Sunderland.

What did Wenger think of jumping into second place?

“What happened on the pitch was not a great experience but we need to try and bounce back so we are ready for the next game against Sunderland on Saturday”.

Yes, the scramble has just begun.