"I haven't seen too much of them, but I think Sunderland are a better team than they were last year with the new signings and I hope they make it equally as difficult for Manchester United and Chelsea when they come here," said Wenger.
"I thought we were a bit unlucky. My team is going through a phase where every shot against us seems to go in the top corner and there's nothing we can do about it."
"Was is it a fair result?" he mused. "It depends what you call a fair result.
"Possession and initiative was all us; they defended with great resilience and spirit all game. But I like to think the team that takes the initiative and goes forward deserves to be rewarded.
"You never know what you're going to get from your team after a Champions League game but, on the day, it turned out we were a bit flat.
"The players wanted it but just couldn't quite get there and I thought we looked a little tired in the first half and a fraction short creativity wise in the whole game."