In the 25th round of the 2025-26 Premier League season, Arsenal defeated Sunderland 3-0, achieving their fourth consecutive victory in all competitions and extending their lead at the top of the table to nine points.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta highlighted the substitutes after the match, calling them incredible "finishers." Following the midweek League Cup semi-final against Chelsea, Arteta made five changes to the starting lineup.

Despite Martin Zuweimendi breaking the deadlock in the first half, Sunderland's aggressive physical play and tight tactics kept the game close for a period. In the final half hour of the match, Arteta brought on Víctor Dzekelěreš, Gabriel Martinelli, Eberrej Eze, and Piero Sincapé.

This adjustment immediately proved effective, with Dzekeresh coming on as a substitute and scoring twice to seal the victory. Arteta praised the tactical execution after the match: "The game opened up in the later stages, and we brought on the 'finishers,' whose performance was incredible."

“I’m very pleased to see the reactions from Victor and Gabriel. They understand their roles, which is key to our winning streak despite playing every three days.”

Besides the outstanding performances from the bench, starting goalkeeper Zubémendi also delivered a standout performance. The Spanish midfielder scored his sixth goal of the season and is the player with the most starts for the team besides the goalkeeper.

Arteta was full of praise for the midfield maestro: "He has scored more goals than I expected. When you watch him every day, you can see that he has a special intuition for when to make a run into the box and a top-notch finishing ability."

Image source: Internet/Arsenal official website