Sunderland were ultimately defeated by Arsenal, but put in a good account of themselves on the night. Here's how the lads rated out of ten...
LEE BURGE 7/10: Made some important stops and was helpless for all five goals. If Hoffmann is out for a while, Burge has made a good start to fighting his way back into the team.
CARL WINCHESTER 7/10: Defended well and got into some good attacking positions from wing-back, less effective when moved into midfield. Forced Leno into a great save at 2-1.
BAILEY WRIGHT 7/10: Some strong tackles and smart defending at times as Sunderland faced a lot of pressure. Filled in at wing-back later on and even looked comfortable in the position!
TOM FLANAGAN 6/10: Struggled to deal with hat trick hero Nketiah, but worked hard and put up a good fight against clearly better quality opposition.
CALLUM DOYLE 5/10: Too slow in possession and could be considered not to have given away a late penalty. Unlucky with Pepe's goal which took a wicked deflection off the young defender.
LYNDEN GOOCH 6/10: Put in a shift defensively but needed more end product when going forward.
DAN NEIL 7/10: Didn't look out of place against a top four Premier League side, with a great ability to find space and produce some excellent passing.
ELLIOT EMBLETON 6/10: Set up Broadhead with a perfectly timed pass, and came extremely close with a great curled effort. However the midfielder went missing for long stretches of the game as our midfield was overran far too easily. Hard to blame Embleton too much though, as he's really not a defensive midfielder.
ALEX PRITCHARD 9/10: Pulled all the strings in midfield, and was key to every attack. Started the goal with some great footwork and was a thorn in Arsenal's side all night.
ROSS STEWART 7/10: Continued his barren run in front of goal, but another impressive overall game from Stewart. Held the ball up and brought others into play really well, and lively throughout.
NATHAN BROADHEAD 8/10: Another youngster who looked like a Premier League player tonight. Pulled one back with a really smart finish and stretched play with great movement until his injury in the first half. Hopefully his injury isn't too bad...
SUBS
DENVER HUME 2/10: Embarrassed by Pepe out wide, who had a field day against the left-back. Looked totally out of his depth.
CORRY EVANS 6/10: Came on as Johnson tried to add some solidity in midfield.
AIDEN O'BRIEN 6/10: Plenty of energy but the game was already over before his introduction.
BENJI KIMPIOKA N/A: A late cameo for Kimpioka.
