Arsenal's coach Mikel Arteta appeared in a press statement after the 2-2 draw against Sunderland in the 11th round of the Premier League, in a match that took place at the Stadium of Light.

The coach said, "We have to give them credit; it was the kind of match where the opponent tries to draw you in, and you need to be able to handle that. There are many matches with this style in the Premier League right now. We conceded a goal in a way that we know very well is one of their strongest points. They excel at this."

He added, "After that, I think we responded well. We scored the first goal and then the second, and we controlled the match. But at any moment, they just need a mistake, a long throw-in, or a direct ball to create chaos."

He emphasized, "You need to defend these positions well. We conceded a goal and we feel a great disappointment because even in the end, we had a great opportunity through [Ricardo Calafiori] and Mikel [Merino] to win the match. But it wasn't meant to be, so we have to accept it."

He stated: "We have won the last 10 matches without conceding any goals, and we have seven injured players. The team has been amazing in terms of performance and results, so we will continue to move forward."

Regarding the performance in the second half: "We needed to do something better, especially with their approach relying on long and direct balls. We talked about that, which allowed us to gain more control and dominance. We made some changes to achieve greater penetration and more threat. We scored two fantastic goals, and it's unfortunate the way we conceded the goal at the end."

He added about Sunderland: "They make things very difficult for you. This is not criticism. I feel that we should have won."

Regarding his assessment of the season so far, he said: "We are in a very strong position for the reasons I've mentioned. We have a solid defense, but seven key players in the attack are injured, so we haven't been able to rotate much. We've also played some tough matches. Let's get some players back and then continue working hard."