Arsenal’s first half performance against Sunderland was far from inspiring but, according to Wenger, all we had to do was keep the Black Cats out and get in behind them.

Although the boss makes it sound as if he was confident we could get the result, after the display we put on in the first half where we went 1-0 up and Sunderland soon equalised through an own goal, I’m sure he was just as disheartened as the fans.

“I thought it was important to keep our nerves at first,” Wenger said.

“They were dangerous with Fletcher and Watmore, and their full backs could have exposed us, so it was important not to concede the second goal and I believe it was also important to get behind their midfield, behind Ola Toivonen and M’Vila and to find space in between their centre backs.”

Thankfully, despite a couple of near-misses, we went on to not only score one other time, but a second and secured a much needed three points.

Obviously there are still aspects of our game we need to work on. The fact that we were so easily overrun by a team that has seriously struggled up until this point so far this season is worrying, especially considering we were at home. However, it does give us a solid foundation to work on. Although I’m not as confident as the boss, I’m starting to believe we can get there.