Arsenal news: Ethan Nwaneri humiliation explained as private Mikel Arteta chat emerges

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Arsenal maintained their lead in the Premier League title race with a clinical 3-0 victory over Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Despite the absence of key creative outlets Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard, the Gunners dominated possession from the outset.

The breakthrough arrived in the 42nd minute when summer signing Martin Zubimendi showcased his technical quality, meeting a Leandro Trossard pull-back with a crisp, outside-of-the-boot strike that clipped the inside of the post before nestling in the net.

Sunderland showed flashes of resilience early in the second half, forcing David Raya into a smart save from Chemsdine Talbi, but the introduction of Viktor Gyökeres effectively ended the contest. The Swedish forward doubled the lead in the 66th minute, improvising a low finish into the near post just six minutes after coming off the bench.

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Gyökeres then added a third in stoppage time, tapping home from close range following an unselfish square pass from Gabriel Martinelli on the counter-attack. Following Manchester City's win over Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, Mikel Arteta ’s side remain six points ahead in the Premier League table as they look to finally finish top of the pile following three consecutive second place finishes.

With each game only increasing in importance, the pressure is now on with the Gunners next facing Brentford on Thursday night. Here, Mirror Football takes a look at some of the top Arsenal headlines

With Arteta's side so far setting the Premier League alight, the decision was made in the January transfer window to send youngster Ethan Nwaneri out on loan to Ligue 1 outfit Marseille to gain first-team experience after a limited amount of first-team opportunities earlier in the season. However the 18-year-old has hit a difficult run following an initially promising debut in France, as his side were thrashed by title favourites PSG on Sunday.

Les Olympiens were on the end of a humbling 5-0 scoreline, with Nwaneri suffering the humiliation of being substituted at half-time for the second game in a row . Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi, formerly of Brighton , explained the decision to take him off after the game, as he explained the need to 'protect' the attacker following his move to the club.

"As for Nwaneri, he wasn’t having a great night." De Zerbi said. "He wasn’t getting much support from his teammates. He needed to be protected, like all young players."

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed what he told Viktor Gyokeres when he informed the Sweden international he would not be starting in the weekend's clash with Sunderland. While the Spaniard opted to put Gabriel Jesus in from the start, Gyokeres was introduced in the second half, replacing Jesus in the 60th minute before bagging himself two goals.

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And following the game, Arteta revealed he had already planned for the £63.5m summer signing to come on and make an impact. Arteta told Viaplay Fotball: "He’s in a really good run at the moment. When he saw the lineup and he wasn’t in, his reaction was immediately… ready! I told him: ‘You’re going to be coming on and you can make a huge impact!"

Arteta was then asked by former Premier League forward-turned Viaplay pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft if he told Gyokeres exactly how many minutes he was going to get. The Spaniard replied: "Not the exact minutes because I don’t know that.

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