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A character-building point. The kind of point (and refusal to crumble under immense Arsenal pressure) that says “Yes. We are here. We mean business and we want to make our mark in this league”.
When Brian Brobbey acrobatically hooked the ball past David Raya deep into injury time on Saturday evening, ensuring Sunderland took a share of the spoils from a game that was by turns full-blooded, thrilling and frustrating, it represented the latest step on a journey for which we’ve all got a front seat — one that kicked into a higher gear against Coventry City, was turbocharged at Wembley, and is now continuing to gather speed at an impressive rate.
On the face of it, perhaps there was a trace of frustration at the outcome, not least because for much of this game, we more than matched Arsenal, particularly physically, and had taken a deserved lead via a superb goal from the monstrous, the colossal and the all-conquering Dan Ballard.
Could that have been the springboard for a victory? Possibly, but when Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard hauled the visitors in front and seemingly set them on course for a key victory, the dynamic shifted again.
At 1-2 down to a side of such quality, your choice is simple: fold or fight. Thankfully, the Lads chose the latter and Brobbey’s winner — the latest addition to a growing highlight reel of late Sunderland goals — sent the Stadium of Light into raptures as darkness enveloped a packed house and those in red and white could celebrate another famous result.
Make no mistake: this was a fabulous game to watch; a compelling, riveting affair that proved why the Premier League is the place to be, and although Arsenal’s football bordered on the sublime at times, they didn’t rip through us at will and shorn of the likes of Viktor Gyökeres and Martin Ødegaard, they occasionally looked merely sensational as opposed to world-beating — a challenge we needed to embrace rather than shy away from.
As we all knew, Arsenal’s defensive record coming into this game was formidable, but under Régis Le Bris, Sunderland are no respecters of tradition and by sending the Gunners back down to North London with their clean sheet record vanquished and two points dropped, we sent a message of our own: “Want to take anything from a game on Wearside? Be prepared for one hell of a battle”.
As you’d expect, all of our big guns came to the party on Saturday night.
Granit Xhaka led the charge against his former side; Reinildo turned in a typically powerful display at left back, and Ballard played like a man possessed against the club from whom we signed him back in 2022. One late, late block was for the ages but aside from his goal, he was a towering presence at the back and now that he seems to have shaken off his injury concerns, he’s surely playing the best and most dominant football of his career.
As Le Bris hinted at during his pre-match press conference, there were periods during this game in which we had to suffer, times during which discipline was key and resilience the watchword.
Saka’s goal was a tad frustrating and perhaps Trossard could’ve been shown down the left as opposed to being allowed to cut inside onto his right foot, but they’re an elite side with world class players. Sometimes teams of this ilk find a way and it’s up to you to respond — which we did, thanks to Brobbey’s late heroics.
As we break for the latest round of internationals, we can reflect on a run of results that have served further notice of Sunderland’s intentions this season and given legions of fans the kind of hope that we’ve not enjoyed for a prolonged period at this level for quite some time.
This is not a plucky underdog of a side that’s “Here for a good time, not for a long time”. It’s a proper team, meticulously put together and blessed with remarkable fitness, pride, resilience, skill and togetherness. It’s coached with the kind of detail and tactical flexibility that many of us have never experienced at Sunderland, and the attitude of the players has been nothing short of exemplary.
As the Lightning Seeds’ Ian Broudie intoned when _The Life Of Riley_ echoed through the stadium during the pre-match build up, _“Won’t you take your seat and hold on tight?_”
Under Le Bris and with this group of players to swing behind, I think we’ve done just that — and this was another memorable day for all concerned.
> _Saturday 8 November 2025_
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> _Premier League_
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> _Stadium of Light_
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> _Attendance:_ 46,799
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> _Sunderland:_ 2 (Ballard 36’, Brobbey 94’)
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> _Arsenal:_ 2 (Saka 54’, Trossard 74’)
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> **_Sunderland:_** Roefs, Hume, Geertruida (Mayenda 87’); Mukiele, Ballard, Reinildo; Xhaka, Sadiki, Traoré (Talbi 64’); Le Fée (Adingra 64’), Isidor (Brobbey 63’)
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> **_Subs Not Used:_** Patterson, Masuaku, O’Nien, Neil, Rigg
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> **_Arsenal:_** Raya, Timber, Saliba; Magalhães, Calafiori, Zubimendi; Rice, Saka, Eze (Mosquera 88’); Trossard, Merino
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> **_Subs Not Used:_** Kepa, Dowman, Harriman-Annous, Hincapié, Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri, Nørgaard, White