Guimarães and Saka fire Arsenal to win at Sunderland after Raya spot-kick save
As the final whistle blew Bruno Guimarães wore a mischievous smile, Enzo Le Fée was a study in dejection and Arsenal’s immaculate start to the season remained unblemished.
Two minutes after David Raya had rather majestically saved Le Fée’s second-half penalty, Guimarães delighted his new north London public and plenty of old friends in Newcastle by sending a shot curving past Robin Roefs from the edge of the area.
Mikel Arteta’s champions were en route to another win in a campaign that has now produced six victories in six games in all competitions, including the Community Shield. No one, though, should be deceived by the emphasis lent to the scoreline by Bukayo Saka’s stoppage-time penalty; this was most definitely the toughest test this term for Arsenal.
If Sunderland can keep playing like this, Régis Le Bris and his players should have real cause for optimism – even if they could have done without Reinildo’s late sending-off for felling Saka when conceding that penalty and collecting a second yellow card.
His penalty miss aside, chapeaux off to Le Fee, who has deservedly made Zinedine Zidane’s provisional France squad for the forthcoming Nations League matches. Sunderland’s attacking playmaker knew another good performance here could only enhance his chances of moving from longlist to shortlist and he did not take long to draw a foul and win a dangerous free-kick.
Arsenal’s former captain Granit Xhaka delighted in curling the meanest of dead balls in Dan Ballard’s direction but the home central defender, a one-time Gunners youth captain, could not quite connect.
There had been a similar reprieve for Le Bris’s rearguard when Saka failed to make the most of Declan Rice’s fine early delivery. Yet, bar a Gabriel Magalhães shot from distance that whizzed just wide of Roefs’s goal, a Kai Havertz shot on the turn saved smartly and a low 20-yard effort that Le Fée dragged fractionally wide of an upright, that was pretty much it in terms of first-half goalmouth action.
Mikel Arteta’s side were taking their time to establish a settled passing rhythm. If Sunderland’s superb organisation hardly assisted the visiting cause, Arsenal looked a little fazed whenever the outstanding Nordi Mukiele – surely another candidate for the France squad – advanced from right-back.
Ezri Konsa, meanwhile, did not appear to be either relishing or winning his extremely physical contest with Le Bris’s ever-combative centre-forward, Brian Brobbey. If a packed Stadium of Light enjoyed that little subplot, the roof was nearly lifted off by the roar of approval that greeted Reinildo’s full-blooded early challenge on Martin Ødegaard.
One constant was Arteta’s excursions outside his technical area and eventually the referee, John Brooks, responded by jogging over to the touchline and waving a yellow card in the Arsenal manager’s face. While that booking was hardly unmerited, it seemed a shame that Brooks turned a blind eye to some persistent shirt-pulling from both sides at corners.
With the match even at the interval, Arteta replaced Myles Lewis-Skelly and the hobbling Ben White with Guimarães and Jurriën Timber. The Brazilian’s past as Newcastle’s captain ensured Guimarães’s every touch was booed, while Sunderland started the new half strongly, with Brobbey continuing to bully Konsa.
A penalty area encounter with Ballard at a throw proved no more welcome and when Konsa grappled the defender to the ground, Brooks – much to Arteta’s chagrin – had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
Le Fée attempted to squeeze his kick just inside an upright but Raya, excellent throughout, guessed correctly and tipped the ball quite brilliantly on to the woodwork. Talk about a sliding-doors moment. Two minutes later and very much against the run of play, Arsenal broke from another Sunderland throw and Guimarães did the rest.
With no option but to take risks, Le Bris switched to 4-4-2 and also introduced Malick Fofana, newly signed from Lyon, and he quickly created chaos in Arsenal’s box
Although it took Roefs, who saved superbly from Saka, and Ballard, responsible for a vital header off the line, to keep Le Bris’s side in the game, while Timber had a headed “goal” disallowed for offside, Arteta had reason to look slightly nervous as Mukiele volleyed Le Fée’s corner over the bar.
By now Xhaka, booked for sliding into Guimarães, was enjoying himself in midfield and from one of his corners Mukiele again went close.
A comeback beckoned but Saka had different ideas as Arsenal issued a reminder that they will not surrender their title lightly.