Gus Poyet: 'We were poor, but credit to Arsenal'

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet has admitted that his side were thoroughly outclassed by Arsenal during this afternoon's 4-1 defeat in North London.

The Gunners dominated possession with a share of 65% of the ball and hit the target with nine of their 12 shots at goal.

After the match, Poyet acknowledged that his team were below par, but was keen to pay credit to Arsenal, who are now just one point behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.

"The combination of Arsenal playing well and us being poor on the ball made it difficult for us," Poyet told BBC Sport.

"We needed to be organised and see the danger but they punished us. Then we made a mistake for the second goal, which we never make, and that made it tough.

"Then we had to make sure we didn't concede another three or four in the second half because that would have been embarrassing. Sometimes you need to accept that we were second best. Credit to Arsenal."

Sunderland have now failed to beat Arsenal in their last nine league meetings.