A slight dislocation of services at Goonerholic Towers has left us with a late substitute report which will focus on the issues rather than the detail of the match. Arsenal maintained their 100% record at Sunderland with a very hard fought 2-0 win. If Sunderland play with anything like the intensity they did in this match very few sides will exit the Stadium of Light with three points. It was a hugely committed performance in a game which was marred by a poor decision by the officials which could have left us with a mountain to climb.
That we didn’t was due to a brilliant penalty save by David Raya who was inspirational in goal as he so often is. The man is a League Champion, a World Cup winner and has a very strong claim to be the best goalkeeper in the world currently. The upgrade on Ramsdale that was so controversial a few years ago was eminently justified. Let us go over the key points of an enthralling Premier League match.
Arsenal’s starting eleven was the predictable one that had begun the Chelsea match seven days earlier. The ground was throbbing with noise and passion and Arsenal had to adjust to a big challenge barely forty eight hours since returning from Naples. Our three thousand marvellous fans sang loud and proud not cowed by the 8pm kick off time in the far North East. Saka might have done better when Rice found him in space behind the Sunderland defence and then Kai Havertz span onto a probing Ødegaard chip and Roefs had to tip over his acrobatic effort. Sunderland responded aggressively to both the challenge of subduing Arsenal’s attack and trying to put pressure on our goal. Ballard, who began his career at Arsenal, looked particularly energised and narrowly failed to connect properly with an excellent Xhaka cross from a free kick on the left. The intensity of the game took its first casualty when Ben White tweaked his groin and had to leave the game at half-time.
Arteta was particularly wired and the referee decided to show him a yellow card for failing to stay within what looked in truth to be a small technical area . The pressure a physically big and well-drilled Sunderland team were putting us under was a problem for him to ponder in the half-time interval. Brobbey, the man mountain upfront for Sunderland, was proving as obdurate as he was in this fixture last year but Konsa and Gabriel remained redoubtable and prepared for a serious second half battle.
Half-time Sunderland 0 Arsenal 0
Jurrien Timber returned to the team in place of Ben White in the second half and MLS was replaced by Guimarães. Myles had been caught in possession a couple of times in the first half but the addition of a former Newcastle skipper, unsurprisingly, did little to dampen down the atmosphere!
The game exploded in the 52nd minute. Sunderland earned a throw in level with the penalty area and Ballard seemed to be thrown to the ground as the ball looped into the area. The referee pointed to the spot immediately and VAR acquiesced with his decision fairly instantly. In reality, Ballard had looped his arm into Konsa’s and thrown him over in a move more akin to Judo than football. Konsa was very much the innocent party but there seemed little sympathy for the Arsenal man’s plight .
Enzo Le Fee fresh from converting a spot kick at Brentford last week drove a very presentable penalty low and hard to Raya’s left but the Arsenal keeper leapt across brilliantly to turn the ball against the post and away. A huge moment in the match. Within two minutes, momentum in the match had changed. Arsenal built pressure on the left and Rice slipped the ball to Bruno twenty five yards out in a central position. Our new Brazilian paid off a big chunk of his transfer fee with a beautiful curving drive which arrowed past Roefs into the top right hand corner. A wonderful strike which Bruno embellished with a wind up celebration that was very much intended to annoy the Mackems.
Sunderland 0 Arsenal 1 – Guimarães 53
Sunderland were far from beaten and subjected Arsenal to heavy pressure but as we know Arsenal’s defence is made of very stern stuff and Raya was in imperious form. His best moment was a double block from a close range Mukiele effort. Mr. Brookes the referee moved into yellow card mode penalising players on both sides including Gabriel for appearing to act as peacemaker in a touchline conflagration. Arsenal brought on a brand new midfield (but not a brand new striker, Gyökeres being unused again). Timber headed in a teasing Ødegaard cross but was just offside. Brobbey continued to try to bully the unbullyable (is that a word?) Arsenal defence and in injury time, Guimarães sent Saka through. Reinildo, who was booked in the first half, was fouling Saka for over twenty yards, yanking his shirt off his shoulder and when Bukayo subsided to the ground in the penalty area the referee awarded a spot-kick and gave Reinildo a second yellow card and his marching orders.
Saka’s spot kick was in a similar place to Le Fee’s but had more speed and Roefs could only help it into the net.
Sunderland 0 Arsenal 2 – Saka, pen, 90+6 – & Full Time
Counting the Community Shield this was our sixth win in a row, four of them away from home and it was a gutsy, mature performance. Arsenal are making themselves more unpopular with each passing day but under the resentment is a grudging respect for the sheer strength and quality of game management of our squad .
Raya was named Man of the Match, quite deservedly, but there were a number of notable performances. Our defence was rock solid and it was nice to see Timber back. Rice and Ødegaard maintained their excellent form and Bruno added a different dimension when he joined the fray. The verticality of his passing makes us so much more dangerous. Havertz worked his socks off. I don’t feel Bukayo is yet at his best but he has scored three goals already.
We can now play our second eleven in the Carabao Cup and allow our hard working stars some time off before what will be another very tough match at the Amex.
Thanks TTG
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team look so much like their fanbase – neanderthals and troglodytes all over. Their game plan seemed to be to kick anything that moved, especially our captain who came in for particular attention.
The referee was never in control with Sunderland complaining and debating every decision against them and the penalty decision, booking Arteta and the late flurry of yellow cards were all signs that the referee was not up to the occasion
Xhaka was at the forefront of moaning. I never liked him as a player and definitely not as our captain. He suits Sunderland – I hope that they get relegated.
A horrible game to watch but a deserved victory made sweeter by Raya’s performance.
UTA
Thanks TTG, like the team you have risen to the occasion 👏👏
I thought we coped with Sunderland better than last year and
fully deserved our three points in the end. Several positives from
the game have been well-covered by TTG and all I can add is that
in my opinion unbullyable is a perfectly serviceable adjective.
On to Ipswich in the Carabao and a chance for several of our
squad to show us what we have been missing….
Kepa, Salmon, Hincapie, Zubi, Merino, Vik, Noni, Eze and Max should all
start at least and hopefully Mosquera will be fit too.
Thanks for stepping in and stepping up, TTG. Nothing to disagree with in your report. The Mackems went at it hammer and tongs but came away with nothing. This team doesn’t do wilt.
Neither penalty should have been given, but poor refereeing was the order of the evening. More of it at the Mancs derby, too. We should be two points clear at the top this evening, not on goal difference. PGMOL/VAR is not fit for purpose
And a reminder to Predictathon players that we are still trying to nudge our donation past the £1,000 mark. Any top-up you can chip in is much appreciated. The Support Willow button is towards the top of the page on the right-hand side. There is one extra tenner so far. Don’t let it be lonely.
Adrian Clarke on the Sunderland game:
Thanks TTG, for stepping into the breach at short notice and producing an enjoyable and accurate account of this great victory. You have preserved GHF’s 100% record!
Raya was the deserved winner of the MotM award but we had many more heroes out there, not least Guimarães who showed exactly what he brings to the party. You are entirely correct that IF Sunderland play like that against all comers then few visiting sides will leave with all three points.
Meanwhile, Pro Ref have apologised for today’s error on the offside decision on C130y’s goal but haven’t uttered a squeak about their hopeless referee’s and visually impaired VAR’s egregious penalty award for Sunderland. MA8 was absolutely correct in his post-match anger but Pro Ref’s silence on their apparatchiks’ errors justifies more opprobrium
Ronay’s view in The Grauniad on MA’s annoyance at the refereeing decision.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/13/mikel-arteta-arsenal-sunderland-premier-league
Personally I thought it was nonsense dressed up as the high moral ground from Ronay, oddly enough quite close to what he is accusing Mikel Arteta of in the article 😃
@3 Ned,
In terms of neither penalty actually being a penalty I tended to agree at first look but I did read an opinion that ours was because the ref played the advantage for the initial foul outside the area but then there was a different and separate foul inside the area meaning it was a penalty……. Rose-colored gooner specs or a fair point?
OM@8: I thought that if advantage was played but no advantage followed, then play returned to where the original foul was committed, but the rules and their interpretation change so fast these days, who knows?
@7: Thanks for the Ronay link. Post-match press conferences are performative. Who knew? I also suspect that was a column that Ronay was waiting for the opportunity to write.
Great work, TTG. An excellent win in an extremely challenging environment. It wasn’t cold, it wasn’t wet, but it was ‘up north’ under the floodlights with a ref who quickly buckled under to the buckets of bile pouring forth from the local legions. In short it was the sort of situation in which lesser versions of our team would not have fared well. Nuff said.
I didn’t think that either penalty should have been given. I was delighted by Bruno’s strike. Great to see Jurien back, although driven by the unfortunate White injury. Zubi looked good and keen to impress when he came on; Michael Merino on the other hand looked strangely rusty.
I do hope we see wholesale changes for the game at Ipswich. Kai Havertz and Declan should enjoy padded seats in the stand and be nowhere near green grass.
Matt @7, I never read Ronay. Like many who write in that rag, he has never progressed beyond his childhood indoctrination or student politics and views the world through the lens of ideologies and prejudices that were inculcated at an early age, long before he ever had the chance of developing critical judgement.
On the other hand, Sam Dean (a proper journalist whose writing commands a fee) identifies another aspect of Arteta’s transformation of the club (£):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2026/09/13/if-you-want-fight-arsenal-will-have-one-and-win/
Dean’s judgement is spot on:
“For the Arsenal fans who spent so many years watching a weak Wenger team crumble on such away trips, these are truly glorious times. Every supporter in the away end at the Stadium of Light would follow this current team into battle.”
Cheers TTG. Solid win, we find new ways while never really having time to doubt.
Thanks in no small part to Raya, yet I was confident we’d overcome the concession, it being early-ish enough. That Bruno (the real Bruno now :-)) strike bears repeated viewings, what a hit!
I’m not entirely convinced there will be as many changes as most people think for Ipswich, it not being an easy fixture. Mind you, these days, the League Cup with Mikel may be more about rotating ‘senior’ subs than giving youth a chance, thanks to our stronger squad (when few are injured).
Didn’t realise the match was Tuesday as I see now. Won’t be able to watch it.
Thanks TTG – great work and especially at such short notice. I don’t even know the circumstances but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t me who caused you the extra work 🤞🏻
Time forces me to leave some comments on the officiating we’ve experienced so far this season – but I’ll be back !
Well done, TTG and a big three points for the Arsenal when it easily could have gone another way if not for our great coaching, determination, focus, and squad depth.
Take a bow Bruno G. That was a huge goal and supremely well struck.
A very enjoyable two day trip to the North East. A splendid pregame curry in Durham (huge and memorable garlic naans now challenging the ones in Nottingham) and then a Sunday morning cooked breakfast at an A1 diner on the way home.
As always, the Stadium of light was loud. No safe standing in the block we were in, which made the row below us was at shin height – ideal for taking tumble during the tremendous limbs following Raya’s penalty save, Bruno’s golazo and Saka’s converted penalty. Fortunately we managed to remain upright.
The Sunderland park and ride system is efficient, free and works well. Better than Brighton’s which is the only other in the Prem at the moment. From earwigging other passengers, they respect Arsenal, but are triggered by Mikel. “You’ve seen The Champions, now f#ck off home!” is becoming a regular chant!
As I have said before, my main injury fear is something happening to Raya. He is a stupendous, match winning goalkeeper.
Ipswich away tomorrow. Closer than the Emirates for us.
We are on the cusp of reaching £1000 for our Predictathon donation. I make us £3 short . The ball has been crossed in, the net is empty, can someone take us over the line?
Make the net bulge, ‘Holics!
Bulged
That’s more than one/tenth of the season done with no draws, no defeats and only one goal conceded. COYG for the last 9/10 and make this season really one to remember.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>