‘Quite frankly’ – Matt Le Tissier: Arsenal ‘weakness’ will now be ‘exploited’ by rivals
Arsenal could be in for a tougher rest of the season as teams aim to replicate how Sunderland played against them during their 2-2 draw on Wearside.
That is according to Premier League legend Matt Le Tissier, who has exclusively told Football Insider that he feels other top-flight managers will know more about what it takes to take points off Arsenal following the Sunderland clash.
The Gunners had won 10 games on the spin in all competitions prior to their trip to the Stadium of Light on Saturday (8 November).
Mikel Arteta’s side unsurprisingly saw plenty of the ball and had the better chances than their hosts, but were made to pay for some unusually sloppy defending on two separate occasions.
It was the first time Arsenal had conceded twice in a game all season, with Regis Le Bris’ men continuing their stellar start to the campaign with a point after Brian Brobbey’s last-ditch equaliser.
Sunderland won the physical and mental battle vs Arsenal
Sunderland’s mind games began before the game as they moved the advertising hoardings closer to the pitch so as to limit the space for Declan Rice to take his long throw-ins.
Their first goal came as Dan Ballard and Nordi Mukiele each won an aerial duel before the former lashed past David Raya just before the interval.
Arsenal’s slick open play game saw them go 2-1 up in the second-half through goals from Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard, although there was an air of fortune about the equaliser as Enzo Le Fee made a mistake and gave the ball away.
Brobbey’s late introduction saw the Black Cats go even more direct than usual, and it was another chipped ball into the box that saw them snatch a draw as Ballard set the Dutchman up to score in added time.
Le Tissier says Arsenal could be exploited in upcoming games as teams follow Sunderland blueprint
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former England and Southampton striker Le Tissier admitted that he can see the Gunners potentially being found out in a similar fashion going forward as teams better understand ways to score past them following Sunderland’s showing.
He said: “I think there’s definitely a case, and it’s always been the way in the Premier League, that if a team that’s doing really well will suddenly drop some points, then all the other managers will look at the way that that team set up against them, the way that they played against them.
“If there are weaknesses there, they’ll look to exploit that. That’s the way football’s always been. And good managers will always do that. They’ll take a look and see if they could spot any weaknesses in Arsenal’s defence.
“I thought Sunderland had a real good go at that game, quite frankly. You know, they weren’t intimidated by Arsenal, they didn’t really sit back. They had a go at them and they got their reward in the end.”