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Football

29th Oct 2016

Adnan Januzaj shows his worth as an impact sub for Sunderland in Arsenal clash

His introduction changed the game alright

Tom Victor

Others may have given up on Adnan Januzaj, but David Moyes remains a huge fan of the Belgian winger.

The former Manchester United manager gave the youngster his professional debut in the 2013 Community Shield and was bailed out by him in a 2-1 victory at Sunderland in October of that year.

It’s no surprise, therefore, that the Scot was keen to bring Januzaj to the Stadium of Light after replacing Sam Allardyce over the summer.

But he can’t be too happy with the 21-year-old’s latest appearance on Wearside.

Sunderland were being run ragged by Arsenal, but were only a goal behind going into the last half hour.

And they took their chance when it arrived, with Jermain Defoe converting from the penalty spot after Duncan Watmore was brought down by Petr Čech.

1:54pm: Defoe equalises

Sensing an opportunity to get an undeserved but potentially crucial three points, Moyes unleashed Januzaj from the bench.

1:59pm: Januzaj replaces Steven Pienaar

And he certainly made an instant impact on the scoreline, albeit not in the direction Moyes would have hoped.

2:02pm: Giroud makes it 2-1

2:06pm: Giroud scores again to make it 3-1

2:07pm: Alexis Sánchez gets Arsenal’s fourth

So, for those of you keeping score, Sunderland were level for four minutes before introducing Januzaj. Three minutes later, they were behind once more. And five minutes after that it was 4-1.

Januzaj and Moyes must be the first people to cross paths with the Black Cats and pass on their bad luck to everyone else.

Colm Parkinson is joined by Paul Rouse for a heated debate about Sky Sports’ five-year GAA deal and an exclusive chat with AFL star Zach Tuohy on the new GAA Hour. Subscribe here on iTunes