SUNDERLAND (4-1-4-1):

7 Mannone: Had a rush of blood when he missed an attempted header but made an excellent save from Sanchez in either half

7 Yedlin: Got himself into some superb positions on the overlap, but his end delivery was occasionally lacking

8 Kaboul: Another excellent display from arguably the most improved player in the Sunderland team – dominant in the air

8 KONE: Looks an even better signing with every week that passes – strong, aggressive and a superb reader of the game

7 Van Aanholt: Continues to offer a potent threat with his overlapping runs and couldn’t have come much closer as he struck the post

7 Kirchhoff: Just about the best player on the pitch in the first half, but was tiring long before he was eventually taken off

6 Borini: His energy and work rate has added another string to Sunderland’s attacking bow, but he struggled to break free of the Arsenal defence

8 Cattermole: Led by example at the heart of midfield, and was constantly encouraging and cajoling his team-mates

6 M’Vila: Did some things very well and forced a fine second-half save from Cech, but gave the ball away cheaply on a number of occasions

7 Khazri: Indistinguishable from the player who performed so poorly at Norwich and almost beat Cech in the second half

7 Defoe: Forced Cech into an excellent save with a second-half snapshot and never stopped battling away despite sometimes lacking support

Subs:

Watmore (for Borini, 74)

Larsson (for Kirchhoff, 77)

(not used): Pickford (gk), Jones, O’Shea, Rodwell, N’Doye.

ARSENAL (4-2-3-1):

Cech 8; Bellerin 6, Mertesacker 7, Koscielny 7, Monreal 6; Elneny 7, Ramsey 5; IWOBI 8 (Walcott 71), Ozil 6 (Wilshere 84), Sanchez 7; Giroud 5 (Welbeck 71).

Subs (not used): Ospina (gk), Gabriel, Coquelin, Campbell.

Man Of The Match: LAMINE KONE – The centre-half has been a key factor in Sunderland keeping successive clean sheets and looks one of the bargains of the season at £5m.