Sunderland are failing to finish their chances so far this season, and were made to pay for it in the 2-0 defeat against Premier League champions Arsenal on Saturday evening.
Sunderland fell 2-0 to Premier League champions Arsenal at the weekend, a scoreline that flattered the Gunners given the chances that the Black Cats created in a gutsy performance worthy of a point.
Arsenal beat Sunderland courtesy of a stunning long-range strike from former Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes and a late spot-kick from Bukayo Saka, with the opener coming moments after Enzo Le Fee's penalty was saved by the fingertips of David Raya.
Throughout the firecely contested top flight clash, Sunderland had chances to break the deadlock and also equalise before Saka's injury-time goal, with the likes of Nordi Mukiele forcing Raya into yet another stunning save.
From the Black Cats' perspective, Regis Le Bris was proud yet disappointed by the loss, given that his side's tremendous efforts against the champions went in vain when they deserved at least a point from the proceedings.
Certainly, Sunderland can be proud of their performance against Arsenal, but there is a worrying statistical trend emerging for the Black Cats, which was prevalent against the Gunners, and one which Le Bris must remedy moving forward.
Sunderland test David Raya in Arsenal defeat (Action Images via Reuters)Sunderland Have Issue With Finishing Chances, Not Creating Them
Against Arsenal, Sunderland were punished for failing to convert their chances, which are especially rare against the often impregnable backline of Mikel Arteta's side.
With Le Fee missing the penalty, and Guimaraes going on to score the opener just 121 seconds later, this offered a guilt-edged opportunity to swing the closely fought tie in the Black Cats' favour.
As well as Le Fee, Mukiele had multiple chances with the Frenchman choosing to attempt a backheel in the Arsenal box rather than laying it off to a teammate, with man-of-the-match Raya called in action multiple times from close range.
Throughout the clash, Sunderland created a total of three big chances and missed all of them, seeing their 1.8 xG against the Gunners go to waste.
For Le Bris' side, this lack of clinical edge to finish chances is emerging as a theme within the first four games of the Premier League season, and must be improved upon so that Sunderland do not suffer more agonising defeats despite their best efforts.
Within their opening four top flight clashes, against Ipswich Town, Fulham, Brentford, and now Arsenal, Sunderland have created a total of 12 big chances (according to FotMob data), which is a solid average of three per game, which places Le Bris' side joint-seventh for this metric alongside Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, with Arsenal having created just 10 thus far.
However, burying those chances created is far more important, and Sunderland falter in that the Black Cats sit fourth-highest in the Premier League for big chances missed on ten, with just three goals to show for their creative exploits.
| Key goalscoring statistic | Sunderland in 26/27 Premier League so far |
|---|---|
| Big chances created | 12 |
| Big chances missed | 10 |
| Goals scored | 3 |
| Goals from open play | 1 |
More worryingly, within those three goals, just one has come from open play with Wilson Isidor's winner against Fulham, with the other goals being Nilson Angulo's free-kick at Ipswich and Le Fee's equalising penalty at Brentford.
Number nine Brian Brobbey, despite his best physical efforts against Arsenal defenders Ezri Konsa and Gabriel, failed to notch a shot on Raya's goal and was unable to affect the scoreline, with the Dutchman struggling for goalscoring form at the start of the season.
Therefore, this illustrates that the Black Cats must find their clinical finishing edge in open play and take the ample chances that they fashion with AZ Alkmaar and Manchester City ahead before the international break, or they will find themselves on the wrong side of more frustrating results akin to the Arsenal defeat.
Don't forget to sign up for FREE. It takes 30 seconds and means you can comment, like, and receive notifications when we post an article! Click JOIN at the top.
