Arsenal FC remain unbeaten in the league. The Gunners secured their fourth win of the season at Sunderland, though they had to work hard for it. There was one penalty for each side, and the home side were reduced to ten men very late on.
It was the defining moment of the match: on the one hand, the post denied them a lead; on the other, the crossbar helped them to a 1–0 lead. Sunderland were actually already celebrating, but Raya made a superb save to tip Le Fee’s penalty onto the post (56’), before Bruno Guimaraes scored the opener for Arsenal with a long-range thunderbolt that struck the underside of the crossbar (56’).
Prior to that, the Gunners – who remain unbeaten this season – had created the better chances, but lacked clinical finishing. Havertz, for example, shot just over (31’) and was denied shortly afterwards by the quick-reacting Sunderland keeper Roefs (34’).
Initially, there was little to see from the home side, led by Xhaka and his team-mates, in attack. That was until, around ten minutes after the break, Ballard found himself in a tussle with Konsa. Both players held on, but in the end Ballard went down and the aforementioned penalty was awarded to Sunderland.
After falling behind, the Black Cats took a while to recover, but then applied pressure once more in the closing stages. Former Leipzig and Leverkusen player Mukiele, in particular, stepped up a gear. His attempt at a spectacular backheel shot (blocked, 77’) was followed by an even more acrobatic effort. But the bicycle kick also failed to find the net, flying over the bar instead (83’). After he had cleverly flicked on a long cross from Xhaka towards goal, Raya was in the way – and kept a clean sheet (85).
Saka seals the win from the spot
And yet there was still to come on the scoreboard. In stoppage time, Reinildo finally brought down the sprinting Saka inside the penalty area. The fouled player converted the resulting penalty to make it 2–0 (90+7). Reinildo, who had already been booked, was also shown a second yellow card for his foul.
The Gunners thus remain unbeaten at the top of the table; they face Ipswich Town in the League Cup on Tuesday (9.00 pm). Sunderland take on AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Wednesday (9.00 pm).
