Arsenal’s five-game winning streak came to an end with a 2-2 draw with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Brian Brobbey’s 94th-minute goal means Manchester City can close the gap at the top of the Premier League table with a victory over Liverpool.
Sunderland were bright and tough early on, pressing Arsenal high and putting in crunching tackles firing up the Stadium of Light. As opposed to some of the teams Arsenal faced previously, the Gunners were taken by surprise at the Black Cats tenacity throughout.
Dan Ballard gave Sunderland the lead with an excellent finish, after a long free-kick caused chaos in the Arsenal box. The Gunners responded impressively, coming from behind to lead thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka. But they could not hold on, with Brobbey’s improved finish the sting in the tail.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Sunderland’s early aggression
Arsenal’s clean sheet record was broken by one of their former academy players. Sunderland’s tenacity and the stop start nature of the game challenged the Gunners early on. The ball was in play for 23:29 of the first half, due to head injuries, stoppages and a linesman changing his kit.
Unlike the matches against Burnley, Crystal Palace and Fulham, Sunderland pressed Arsenal high early on and launched into challenges, firing up the Stadium of Light.
The slow nature of the game and Sunderland’s bravery in the press took Arsenal by surprise. It was capped off with Ballard’s excellent striker-like finish after a long free-kick caused havoc inside Arsenal’s box.
The volume inside the stadium cranked up with every Sunderland challenge as it took the Gunners a while to find their footing.
Arsenal’s half-space runs cut Sunderland open
The Black Cats may have scored a little too early as the match momentum shifted in Arsenal’s favour heavily after the goal.
Whenever one team scored it seemed to wake the other up, as Arsenal camped outside Sunderland’s penalty area shortly after Ballard’s goal.
Although Saka’s goal came as a result of smart pressing from Declan Rice when Sunderland were trying to have a spell of possession, the majority of Arsenal’s threat came from brilliant runs into the half-spaces, particularly by Riccardo Calafiori.
Regis Le Bris’s side retreated into a low block, and Arsenal patiently stretched Sunderland’s defence and committed players forward.
Playing the ball around Sunderland’s penalty area meant they could switch the ball from one wing to the other. They could also have defenders dart into the half-spaces beyond Sunderland’s defence.
The Black Cats wouldn’t have prepared for defenders to run in behind and in between the gaps of their back five.
Whenever Trai Hume would look to press his winger out wide in Leandro Trossard, it created a gap between himself and Nordi Mukiele for an Arsenal player to dart into.
The sequence became more dangerous as the second half went on as Arsenal began to interchange players to make the run into the half-space, as at one point it was Gabriel from centre-back.
If Sunderland held firm in their back five and Arsenal found no space in behind, they would resort to putting crosses into the box for Mikel Merino who is a nuisance in the air.
With Sunderland heading the ball away it allowed for players to shoot from the edge of the penalty area which resulted in shots hitting the bar like Martin Zubimendi’s.
Eventually, Arsenal’s pressure paid off as they squeezed Sunderland’s block deep into their own half.
Sunderland’s early aggression
Le Bris’ changes gave Sunderland a new lease of life as they fought their way back into the game with Arsenal content on defending their lead.
Introducing Simon Adingra for Enzo Le Fee brought fresh legs into midfield while Brian Brobbey replacing Wilson Isidor caused more chaos from long balls and crosses.
Whenever Sunderland chased a goal, be it at the beginning of the first half or searching for an equaliser, it felt like they could cause Arsenal major problems.
Heading into the international break, the point keeps Le Bris’ men joint-third which is indicative of how well they’ve started their campaign. Arsenal, meanwhile, will rue not seeing the final fifteen minutes of the game out.
Helped by an increasingly boisterous home crowd, Sunderland deserved to take a point as they rattled Arsenal like no other team has of late.