Arsenal meltdown misplaced after Sunderland draw as inevitable Mikel Arteta criticism erupts

Mikel Arteta is facing criticism following Arsenal's draw at Sunderland but the scrutiny does not stack up when looked into

A post-match Arsenal meltdown is far from anything new at the club, but in the case of the draw at Sunderland it is perhaps the most baffling.

The first thing to note is that the Black Cats are an impressive side that deserves its current league position and will certainly cause problems for every team they play against. It is no surprise they have won at Chelsea and held other Premier League stalwarts to draws, too.

From an Arsenal perspective, however, there is no doubt this is a gut-punch. For the second time this season, the Gunners trailed while playing in the northeast and while a late winner won the points at Newcastle, it was a late goal being conceded that changed completely how perhaps a draw would have been viewed at half-time.

In fact, I remember turning to the person next to me at the break and saying a draw would not be a terrible result here. With Liverpool and Manchester City yet to play, it is frustrating that Arsenal won’t be taking full advantage of one or both sides dropping points.

It was a game of two halves, and in the first half, it was no surprise that the side, which had a European away trip just days earlier, looked the less energetic. Yet that cannot excuse the lacklustre defending for the first goal, which Mikel Arteta will most certainly be fuming about.

What we can blame is a couple of very strange decisions from referee Craig Pawson. Firstly, the missed penalty on Mikel Merino with Daniel Ballard smashing the side of the Spaniard’s head before connecting with the ball.

Then comes a critical error: Martin Zubiemendi is pulled up for a foul, but replays show that he clearly got the ball when making his challenge. Again, it doesn’t forgive the defending that follows, but these two moments define the first half.

I had postulated what might happen when the clean sheet record came to an end, and I am glad to say that the response was excellent in the second half. There was urgency, penetration, and brilliant passing in tight spaces, and the two goals the Gunners scored, courtesy of Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard, were excellent.

If they win the game, the following paragraphs are obviously very differen,t but with Brian Brobbey’s late equaliser, the conversation must focus elsewhere. Naturally, when you don’t win, the finger-pointing starts, and it seems the main one lies with Arteta and his changes, or lack of.

The only substitution that was made was Cristhian Mosquera for Eberechi Eze. Some argue that others could have come on with Christian Norgaard highlighted, but I am not sure the Dane changes the result of this game in Arsenal’s favour.

The idea that either Ethan Nwaneri or Max Dowman would have given Arsenal something extra in attack might be true, but it would certainly have weakened them with the high pressure Sunderland were putting them under, and they might have conceded sooner, or who knows, even lost? Nwaneri, in particular, has endured some difficult games of late and lost several duels. Consider Burnley as a good example.

Ultimately, no substitutions that Arteta could have made here would have changed this result in Arsenal’s favour to win. The only thing that changes the outcome is if David Raya and Gabriel Magalhaes do not have their moment and errors that see Brobbey tap in.

Nor do I think Arsenal could have made changes to chase the 3-1. If anything, that would have further increased the likelihood of the draw.

Arsenal have started off this season in unbelievable form and this is just the third time in eleven matches that points have been dropped. Liverpool and City are the other sides to manage it and the Gunners still have a healthy lead at this early stage of the campaign.

With games against Tottenham and Chelsea up next, however, they will need to secure strong results in both to recover the momentum. They sandwich a game with Bayern Munich in the Champions League to add further edge to the fixtures.

However, for Mikel Arteta, the return of several players who have been missing could be a boost. To go to Sunderland with no recognised centre-forward and three injured is far from ideal.

Gabriel Jesus is back in training, while Viktor Gyokeres hopes to return after the international break with Kai Havertz thought not to be too far behind. The same goes for Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli, and Martin Odegaard. Adding these six players back into the fold changes this squad entirely and creates a whole new prospect for opposition sides.