Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal: Brian Brobbey scores the equalizer in the 94th minute, but the Gunners miss the chance to go nine points clear.
Arsenal drew with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Brian Brobbey’s 94th-minute goal earned the Black Cats a point after the Gunners’ second-half comeback. Mikel Arteta’s side missed the chance to briefly extend their lead to nine points.
Substitute Brian Brobbey’s 94th-minute strike saw Sunderland snatch a point from Premier League leaders Arsenal in dramatic fashion at the Stadium of Light.
Brobey became the hero, outmaneuvering David Raya to score after goals from Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard had seen the Gunners complete a dominant second-half comeback.
The dramatic finish to the match means Mikel Arteta’s men extend their lead to six points at the top of the Premier League, while Sunderland climb to fourth place ahead of Manchester City’s clash with Liverpool on Sunday, live on Sky.
Dan Ballard gave the home side the lead in the first half, confirming Sunderland’s status as the Premier League’s surprise package this season.
Both teams came into the game with the best defensive records in the Premier League, and when the clock struck three minutes, Arsenal had gone 13 hours without conceding a goal in all competitions.
That run wouldn’t last much longer, as for the first time in 812 minutes, their defense was broken, ironically, by a set piece.
A long free kick launched forward by Robin Roefs fell to Nordi Mukiele, who headed the ball down to Ballard, a former Arsenal youth player, who fired a powerful shot past Raya and sent the Stadium of Light into raptures.
This forced Arsenal to do something they hadn’t done since their September match against Newcastle: mount a comeback.
Whatever Mikel Arteta said in the visitors’ dressing room undoubtedly motivated the Gunners for the second half.
The Gunners didn’t relent in their search for the equalizer. It came when Declan Rice dispossessed an inaccurate Enzo Le Fee, and the pass found Saka, who fired a shot at the near post, beating Roefs.
From that moment on, it seemed only one team would win the game, as a shot from Martin Zubimendi crashed against the crossbar.
The three points seemed to have been spectacularly secured when Trossard unleashed a rocket from outside the box that nestled into the top corner.
That was until Brobbey appeared to snatch a point from Regis Le Bris’s side, who even in that late stage still needed Ballard’s intervention at the other end to prevent an almost certain goal from Mikel Merino.
