An injury-time goal from Brian Brobbey denied us an 11th straight victory in all competition as we shared the points with Sunderland in a topsy-turvy affair.
Our quest to set a new club record of nine successive clan sheets ended when Dan Ballard put the hosts in front, but after the break we were much improved and Bukayo Saka drove home an equaliser on 54 minutes to level things up.
But with a quarter of an hour to play, Trossard hammered us in front with an excellent strike which looked to be enough to extend our winning run, but the 93rd minute Brobbey managed to get the Black Cats back level as two points slipped from our grasp.
Ballard strikes
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The opening 30 minutes were quiet, not helped by lengthy injury stoppages which prevented either side from building momentum. It took us 15 minutes to register the game’s first shot when Declan Rice saw a free-kick pushed away by Robin Roefs, and when an error by Enzo Le Fee gave us possession in the final third, Ebere Eze spurned a good chance by curling well over.
But the Black Cats went into this game unbeaten in their five home league matches this season, and you could sense their tails were up. Wilson Isador gave us something to think about on 28 minutes when he snuck in behind our defence and dragged an effort well wide, but eight minutes later, the hosts got themselves in front.
Roefs played a long free-kick into the area towards Ballard and he flicked the ball onto Nordi Mukiele, who managed to control it and nudge it back into the defender’s path, and the Hale End graduate became the first player in 13 and a half hours of football to find a way past our defence as he lashed the ball past David Raya.
There was an big opportunity for us to get back level during nine minutes of stoppage time when Bukayo Saka nodded the ball into an unmarked William Saliba’s path 10 yards out but the Frenchman hooked his volley over the bar, and in the final actiomn of the half Mukiele was found in an equally good posiiton but he took was wayward with his finishing and struck the side netting, much to our relief after a disappointing opening 45.
Second half revival
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All three of our previous Premier League defeats against Sunderland had come away from home, and all by a 1-0 scoreline, and if that fate was going to be avoided this time around, we needed a reaction in the second half, and we got it.
Within minutes of the restart, Martin Zubimendi shot straight at Roefs before Saka flashed a shot wide of the far post, but on 54 minutes the winger hit the target anf got us back level.
Le Fee was once again caught in possession by Rice, and he found Eze who in turn played it to Mikel Merino. He played a perfectly weighted pass into Saka, who had time to steady himself for drilling past Roefs at his near post and score for the third time in four games.
The momentum swung massively in our direction and we continued to look menacing, pinning Sunderland into their final third. An eye-of-the-needle pass by Leandro Trossard found Zubimendi inside the box but he could only steer it wide, and not long after Eze chested the ball down and volleyed at Roefs, Zubimendi struck the crossbar when the goalkeeper’s punch fell to him invitingly on the edge of the area.
And on 74 minutes, we got the lead our second-half display merited. Zubimendi found Trossard who was faced with a way of getting past Noah Sadiki, and after a few stutters, the right-back gave our winger the yard of space he desired and he unleashed a rifle of a shot that flew into the top corner to send the travelling Gooners wild.
Late drama
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Just as we had on our previous visit to the north-east at Newcastle United, we have come from behind to get in front, but this time there was plenty of time still to navigate. Raya made an excellent full-stretch block to prevent Brobbey from scoring, although replays showed the Dutchman was offside, before seven minutes of stoppage time were announced.
And in the third of those, the hosts managed to equalise when Raya, Gabriel and Brobbey all went to get on the end of a Ballard pass, and the Sunderland man managed to hook it into the net to draw his team level.
But only another piece of brilliant play by Ballard saw his side leave with a point on the board. We pushed to get back in front and Roefs made a great block to deny Riccardo Calafiori, and just as the ball dropped kindly for Merino to sweep home, the Sunderland centre-back put his body on the line to snuff out the danger and keep the scores level.
What's next
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We now head into the final international break of 2025, returning ready to face the first north London derby of the campaign against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, November 23. Three days later, we then tackle Bayern Munich at home in the Champions League, and the big games keep coming as we then face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, November 30.
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