The talk in September of Arsenal running away with the Premier League title had seemed rather premature, to put it mildly.
These matters are never straightforward, nor predictable, as the history books show. As recently as last season, for example, Liverpool had been tipped to rule supreme after a summer splurge of around £450million.
A first title in 22 years transpired for the Gunners, of course. Yet, the credentials Mikel Arteta‘s men are already showing are a scary sight indeed for rivals, bolstering just why many observers are widely tipping them for major honours once again.
Their heads could have dropped on 54 minutes when referee John Brooks pointed to the spot. Ezri Konsa, who had a tough night at the hands of many wrestling jousts with Brian Brobbey, was embroiled in another such battle – this time with Dan Ballard.
Both had hold of each other’s shirts in the area as the ball arrived. It made Brooks’s call for a penalty seem rather soft, the pair each culpable for the holding.
Enzo Le Fee stepped up to take the resulting penalty, which David Raya sprang at full stretch to tip onto the left-hand post.
Former Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes scored a stunning goal to put Arsenal ahead against Sunderland
The Black Cats could have taken the lead, but David Raya saved Enzo Le Fee’s penalty
It was a stunning save, using all his elasticity. Just two minutes later, substitute Bruno Guimaraes had found himself just outside the area with a sight at goal.
The Sunderland player had stepped off him, fatefully. A curling strike, kissing the underside of the crossbar and into the net followed, along with his ears cupped to the booing home crowd.
These few minutes encapsulated an Arsenal free of the shackles of being perennial runners-up, a belief that they really are better than the rest.
They were not at their best here. Far from it. In fact, on another day, Sunderland may have walked away with something, particularly if Raya’s stupendous save didn’t deny Le Fee’s soft penalty.
But therein lies why this was an important performance: Arsenal didn’t wilt. They had learned from what happened on this ground just under a year ago – a drenching, windy and heated encounter here in the North East back in November.
At that point, Arsenal had won five league games in a row and looked supreme in the eyes of many.
That narrative was shot to pieces after drawing 2-2 with the Black Cats, Brobbey’s injury-time equaliser ending the run – and proving to the league that Arteta’s team wasn’t impregnable, as many had concluded.
An identical blueprint had been copied and pasted by Regis Le Bris again: be physical and aggressive early, and make Arsenal work hard for opportunities from open play.
The Gunners were far from their best – but showed they may well be better than the rest
Brobbey pinned Konsa back, often from the halfway line, using his weight to dictate terms. Konsa often had little choice but to compromise to the striker receiving the ball and laying it off; it amounted to bullying at times.
A number of Sunderland’s players left strong challenges on the opposition’s players, resulting in loud roars from an insatiable, proud home faithful.
Martin Odegaard found himself on the floor from a Granit Xhaka push. Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz were felled by meaty challenges.
Still, Arsenal used this as fuel. Sunderland were right up for this in a fortress where they had only lost four top-flight games at home in the 2025-26 season.
The visitors, though, were in some form, with Odegaard having rediscovered his best form to score four in five matches and the team in general ticking along well across the pitch.
Before kick-off, Havertz had covered more distance than any other Premier League striker this season (32.9km), a reflection of the hard yards Arteta’s team were putting in to cut themselves adrift from the rest.
Arteta opted for the same starting line-up which beat Chelsea last weekend, though Jurrien Timber made the Arsenal squad for the first time since the Champions League final in May.
This was a boost, Timber a key part of Arteta’s plans, his performances last season registering him as arguably the league’s most complete right back.
Bukayo Saka put the icing on the cake late on with an injury-time penalty to make it 2-0
The north London club were going into this match on a five-match unbeaten run across all competitions. Those assertions that Arsenal can’t be chased were again surfacing.
Declan Rice had got his eye in early, playing a few chipped passes into the area. Christos Tzolis received one, mis-controlling the ball, before Saka did the same while through on goal. Against the tidal wave of pressure coming their way, he ought to have done better.
Granit Xhaka’s curling free-kick evaded every Arsenal shirt, reaching Ballard on 16 minutes, his header going wide.
The Gunners nearly had their goal before half-time, Havertz chesting the ball down before swivelling and striking on the half volley which goalkeeper Robin Roefs saved. It was some effort.
There was a sense going into the break of Arsenal’s pressure slowly eroding the seams around Sunderland’s resolute defence. Though the Black Cats were growing in confidence – and their chances were to arrive.
Guimaraes and Timber came on at half-time, Guimaraes’s name particularly met by boos. Yet it was the Brazilian’s heroics which turned the match.
Timber struck late on via a header which was ruled out for offside, and Raya dealt with a skirmish in the area which nearly resulted in the ball bundled in.
But Arsenal held. The lessons of last season’s encounter in the North East had been learned emphatically.
Saka added the gloss with an injury-time penalty, awarded after Reinildo Mandava pulled the winger back. It earned Mandava a second yellow card, too.
