Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal: Raya saves, Bruno Guimarães scores

Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal turned on four minutes early in the second half at the Stadium of Light on Saturday night. On fifty-six minutes David Raya saved a penalty from Enzo Le Fée. On fifty-eight Bruno Guimarães, on as a half-time substitute, scored from outside the box. Bukayo Saka added a second from the penalty spot in the seventh minute of stoppage time, and Arsenal have won all four of their league matches.

They have conceded one goal in those four and kept three clean sheets, and after the weekend they sit top of the table on goal difference, level on twelve points with Manchester City. For most of this match, though, it was a good deal closer than the scoreline suggests, and the penalty save was the moment it could have gone the other way.

A goalless first half, and Roefs

Arsenal forced the only saves of the first half, and Robin Roefs made both of them. On thirteen minutes Declan Rice played Saka through and the Sunderland goalkeeper saved his left-footed shot from the centre of the box. On thirty-three Martin Ødegaard crossed and Kai Havertz’s shot was saved in the top left corner.

Sunderland’s approach was physical. They committed eighteen fouls in the match to Arsenal’s eleven, and Reinildo Mandava was booked for a bad foul on twenty-eight minutes, a card that would matter much later. At half-time Arsenal made two changes, sending on Jurriën Timber for Ben White and Bruno Guimarães for Myles Lewis-Skelly.

The penalty, and the goal

On fifty-four minutes Dan Ballard was fouled by Ezri Konsa in the Arsenal area and Sunderland were awarded a penalty. Le Fée, who had scored from the spot at Brentford a week earlier, took it two minutes later. His right-footed shot went towards the bottom right corner and Raya saved it.

Arsenal scored almost straight away. On fifty-eight minutes Rice found Bruno Guimarães outside the box and his right-footed shot flew into the top right corner. Thirteen minutes after coming on, he had put Arsenal ahead.

Sunderland did not stop coming. Roefs saved from Saka again on seventy-four minutes, and on eighty-four Raya had to make another important stop, from Nordi Mukiele at very close range after a Granit Xhaka cross. Xhaka, Ballard, Brian Brobbey and Mukiele were all booked as the match became more stretched, and Gabriel Magalhães and Havertz picked up cards for Arsenal in stoppage time.

• Penalty saved: David Raya (Arsenal) from Enzo Le Fée (Sunderland), 56 minutes
• Bruno Guimarães (Arsenal), 58 minutes: assisted by Declan Rice
• Reinildo Mandava (Sunderland), sent off for a second yellow card in stoppage time
• Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), penalty in the seventh minute of stoppage time
• Shots: Sunderland 12 (3 on target), Arsenal 11 (5 on target)
• Possession: Sunderland 42.5%, Arsenal 57.5%

Reinildo’s second yellow

The second goal arrived deep into stoppage time. Six minutes in, Reinildo, already booked in the first half, fouled Saka inside the area, conceded a penalty and was shown a second yellow card. Saka took the penalty himself and scored left-footed into the bottom right corner. It was his third league goal of the season, after the goals against Coventry City and at Aston Villa.

The second goal only arrived in the seventh minute of stoppage time, with Sunderland down to ten men and chasing the game. They finished with twelve shots to Arsenal’s eleven, though only three on target.

Arsenal back on top, Sunderland on four points

Arsenal are first with twelve points, eight goals scored and one conceded. They beat Coventry 3-0, won 1-0 at Aston Villa, came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 and have now won at Sunderland. The one goal they have conceded, Morgan Rogers’s strike for Chelsea, remains the only one against them in four league matches.

Sunderland are fourteenth with four points from a win over Fulham, a draw at Brentford and defeats at Ipswich and at home to Arsenal. The missed penalty will be the thing they remember, and the fact that the first goal came two minutes after it.

Arsenal’s next match is away at Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday, and the league leaders will go there with a record that nobody in the division can currently match, apart from Manchester City.

Simulate the rest of the Premier League season

Arsenal and Manchester City are the only two sides with a perfect record after four rounds. On the Premier League simulator you can play the title race forward from the real table, or rerun this match through the AI simulator and see what happens when Le Fée’s penalty goes in.

• Play the remaining 34 rounds from the real table and the real fixture list
• Simulate this week’s Carabao Cup third-round ties, including Ipswich Town against Arsenal
• Run any fixture through the AI match simulator, in tactical view or in the physics arena
• Open the line-up builder for both clubs before you kick off a simulation
• Turn an arena simulation into a vertical video ready to share

"Raya saved a penalty at 0-0. Two minutes later Arsenal were winning, and they never let go."