Le Bris lauds Sunderland effort after Arsenal draw
Regis Le Bris praised the depth in quality of his Sunderland squad as substitute Brian Brobbey's goal earned a point against Arsenal.
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris commended his side for their fight and character as they drew 2-2 with league leaders Arsenal after Brian Brobbey scored in stoppage time.
Arsenal had gone eight games without conceding, but Dan Ballard breached the Gunners' defence with a thunderous finish to put the Black Cats in front at the break.
Mikel Arteta's side improved in the second half and took the lead through goals through Leandro Trossard after Bukayo Saka had equalised, but substitute Brobbey ensured the spoils would be shared in added time after hooking an effort past David Raya.
Sunderland have scored more 90th minute goals than any other side in the Premier League this season, with three of them altering the result of the match in their favour, and Le Bris commended the never-say-die attitude of his players.
The Frenchman told BBC Sport: “The lads worked hard to the end.
"They believed it was possible to change the dynamic. It was a tough game, as we expected.
"They are probably one of the best teams in Europe. We struggled, but we still believed it was possible to score one more goal."
Sunderland have scored four goals via substitutes in the Premier League this season, with only West Ham and Brighton scoring more, and it was Brobbey who made the telling impact from the bench this time around.
“We have many good options coming off the bench," said Le Bris.
"So far, some of them haven’t played a lot but were still connected with the squad.
"Brian worked hard after Wilson [Isidor], because Wilson started well. It’s a reward for working hard.”
Sunderland sit in fourth place with 19 points from their 11 matches played, having made the best top-flight start of any side since Hull in 2008/09, but Le Bris believes there is still plenty of room for improvement.
He said: “For our fans, they deserve to look to the future with positive vibes.
"As a manager and coaching staff, we still want to improve our team, so we analyse. It was a good opportunity to do that and to improve the squad later.”
