Sunderland’s late habit struck again as substitute Brian Brobbey hooked in a 94th-minute leveller to seal a dramatic 2-2 draw and end Arsenal’s 10-game winning run across all competitions at the Stadium of Light. The Premier League leaders conceded for the first time since September when Dan Ballard, once of Arsenal’s academy, smashed in a first-half opener from a set-piece to break a streak of eight successive clean sheets and 812 minutes without being breached.
Arsenal turned the contest on its head after the interval. Declan Rice nicked possession, and Bukayo Saka squeezed a right-foot finish inside the near post before Leandro Trossard ripped a 20-yard strike into the top-left corner. Yet Sunderland refused to yield. David Raya first denied Brobbey, but the striker's acrobatic finish in stoppage-time salvaged a point, and Ballard's last-gasp block on Mikel Merino preserved it. Arsenal remain six points clear at the top; Sunderland move up to fourth and stay unbeaten at home.
A set-piece and a familiar face finally breach Arsenal’s wall
The leaders arrived carrying irresistible momentum, their 13th hour without conceding already underway. Sunderland shattered it with a routine move straight from the training ground: Robin Roefs delivered a deep ball, Nordi Mukiele nodded it down, and Ballard lashed beyond Raya. It was a poetic strike, the defender forged in Arsenal’s academy ending their proud shutout run.