Arsenal had faced newly promoted sides on two occasions already this season and they swept them aside with ease.

Mikel Arteta’s men welcomed Leeds United to the Emirates Stadium in the early knockings of the campaign and sent out a message, dispatching them 5-0.

Last weekend, the Gunners faced Burnley and while they didn’t thrash them, it was another routine win for the league leaders.

So, when they travelled to the final newly promoted side of 2025/26 in the form of Sunderland, Arteta’s side knew they were going to find life a bit tougher.

The Black Cats have been the story of the Premier League season to date and they showcased that on Saturday, battling to an incredibly hard-earned 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light.

Arsenal were not at their best but credit where credit is due; Sunderland are a mighty fine team.

What went wrong for Arsenal against Sunderland

The Gunners came into this clash having not conceded a goal for eight games. Their defensive record was remarkable, but it had to come to an end sometime. That time was now.

Regis Le Bris’ team have been phenomenal in the early stages of the new term and demonstrated why they look very unlikely to suffer relegation. In short, they looked like the best collective team the north Londoners have faced all season.

It was a familiar face in the form of Granit Xhaka who helped down his former colleagues but he wasn’t the only ex-Arsenal player on the field to make an impact.

Indeed, former Hale Ender, Dan Ballard, made the most noteworthy impact. He hadn’t played a single first-team game for the Gunners before joining Sunderland in a £2m deal but he’s more than made his mark in the north east.

He scored that last-gasp goal against Coventry City in the Championship play-off semi-finals and has come in clutch again since Le Bris’ men were promoted.

Ballard’s finest game in a Sunderland shirt was reserved for his former employers. It was the colossal centre-back who powered how the game’s opening goal and it was he who supplied Brian Brobbey’s late equaliser.

Arsenal were not at the races in the first half but they did come back fighting in the second period. It was a noticeably better performance from the league leaders who levelled courtesy of Bukayo Saka.

The winger has struggled for form in the early parts of 2025/26 but this was perhaps his finest league display of the season to date. His goal, specifically as it was on his so-called weaker foot, was simply world-class.

Saka had spurned two golden opportunities to score against Burnley a week ago but this was much more like it from the club’s talisman.

Still, as he has been in recent weeks, Saka was upstaged once more by Belgian Leandro Trossard. It looked for all the world as though the winger would exit the club in the summer as Arsenal targeted reinforcements in attack but due to a plethora of injuries has become a vital player again. His strike to put Arteta’s team in front was one of his best since joining from Brighton.

Yet, in very uncharacteristic fashion, the visitors struggled at the back. For both goals, they struggled to clear their lines and the backline didn’t lose one duel but two duels in the build-up to the last-gasp equaliser. Brobbey beat Gabriel Magalhaes to the ball and goalkeeper David Raya was left stranded.

So, the international may break may well have come at just the right time. It will give Arsenal a chance to reset and potentially get some of their injured players back.

Arsenal star lets Arteta down when it counts

For Sunderland, Ballard was imperious. After all, he did have something to prove.

The Gunners never gave him an opportunity to strut his stuff at the Emirates but at the Stadium of Light, he has found a home for himself.

He was dominant, he was colossal and arguably, the best player on the pitch. Truth be told, he outplayed one of the best players in the whole of Europe this season; Gabriel.

The Brazilian has been the glue that has bound everything together for Arsenal and in the words of Jamie Carragher, he has “been the most influential player” in the division.

Well, on Saturday, it was his worst performance of the campaign to date. Handed a 5/10 match rating by GOAL, they lamented the centre-back’s involvement in the equalising goal.

While Gabriel is usually so mean, so fierce in the duel, he was bullied on this occasion and was left to feel rather sorry for himself having tried to win a foul.

Man of the hour, Mr Brobbey, got across the big and tough Brazilian and rather made him look like a schoolboy. Very few attackers can do that to Gabriel but he was outmuscled and left pleading with the referee to give a foul. It was not a foul, Arsenal’s number 6 had just been outplayed “when it mattered most” in the words of Arsenal writer and content creator Jamie Kent.

Gabriel didn’t do much wrong up to that point, but he was rattled in a way we rarely see from one of Arsenal’s standout players.

While the former Lille central defender did win both of his ground duels on the evening, he only won five of his eight aerial battles, suggesting that this was indeed a tougher day at the office.

Minutes played

90

Touches

75

Accurate passes

53/62 (85%)

Key passes

1

Accurate crosses

0/2

Dribbles

0

Shots

0

Possession lost

11x

Ground duels won

2/2

Aerial duels won

5/8

Tackles won

0

Interceptions

0

Recoveries

0

There is not much that the centre-back needs to improve but this was the third instance, all of which have led to goals this season, that have seen Gabriel lose a duel in the build-up to a goal.

He let Erling Haaland turn him too easily during the 1-1 draw with Manchester City a few months ago when the Norwegian scored and Gabriel was also at fault the last time Arsenal conceded prior to the Sunderland game. Coincidentally, that also came in the north east. In a similar fashion, the Brazil international looked to bait a foul from the centre-forward and it simply wasn’t forthcoming.

On that occasion, the towering Nick Woltemade simply battered him out the way and the same could be said of Brobbey on Saturday.

He’s not usually one to shy away from things but on two occasions now he’s let Arsenal down in big moments. He has also delivered some imperious moments this season, but if he does want to be considered the best defender in the land, incidents like this one must be eradicated from his game.

That being said, it does rather say it all that this was Gabriel’s worst performance of the season. He was still pretty rock solid besides that error.