Last weekend, Arsenal had the kind of performance that vexes their supporters.Having quickly regrouped to advance to the EFL Cup quarterfinals, however, the Gunners now have another opportunity to show how far theyve come mentally on Saturday when they face bottom-feeders Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.Arsenal (6-2-1) are one of three teams atop the table on 20 points, trailing Manchester City by the slimmest of goal difference margins while also holding that same narrow advantage over Liverpool.Arsene Wengers side had its seven-match winning streak come to end last Saturday with a 0-0 draw at home versus new boys Middlesbrough. The gaffer admitted his teams effort was less smooth and less fluent than its impressive winning run in which Arsenal outscored opponents 23-3.But the Frenchman also made note of his teams willingness to dig in and scrape out a result, a virtue that did not always appear last season and contributed to their lack of a title challenge to eventual winners Leicester City.Weve lost games like that, he told Arsenals official website. We are in a position where weve come out of (seven) straight wins. We didnt win but before we maybe wouldve panicked a bit and lost the game.With a quick turnaround in the League Cup, Wenger made nine changes to his starting XI and the result was a 2-0 victory Tuesday over Championship side Reading. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain provided the offence with goals on either side of halftime as the Gunners advanced opposite Southampton in the quarterfinals next month.Any game that I play in is an opportunity for me to show what I can do. And whether its the league, the Champions League, the League Cup or the FA Cup -- its all important, said Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has seen sporadic playing time during the season.Its all game time and its good to get your confidence up to try and play the way you want to play … and hopefully that form will carry over into the league and be rewarded with more starts.Wenger also got some good news as striker Olivier Giroud played nearly a half-hour off the bench and defender Carl Jenkinson, who tore his ACL while on loan with West Ham in January, logged the full 90 minutes.Sunderland (0-2-7) are the only team in Englands top five leagues without a victory and have the look of a team resigned to its annual fight to avoid the drop. The Black Cats were done in by some bad luck last weekend, falling