Three things we learned from Arsenal draw as injury-hit Gunners fall short of famous comeback

Sport | Football

Three things we learned from Arsenal draw as Dan Ballard comes back to haunt injury-hit Gunners

Mikel Arteta’s title push is being held back by a raft of first-team absentees

Back with a bang: Dan Ballard starred against his former club

REUTERS

Your matchday briefing on Arsenal, featuring team news and expert analysis from Simon Collings

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Arsenal suffered heartbreak at Sunderland as Brian Brobbey struck a late equaliser to end their 10-game winning streak.

The Gunners had seemed set to secure all three points in the north east after Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard both scored in the second half.

The pair’s goals cancelled out Dan Ballard’s opener and put Arsenal on course to go nine points clear at the top of the Premier League.

But Brobbey found the net with just minutes to go as Sunderland fought back to claim a 2-2 draw.

And, here, Standard Sport looks at three things we learned from Arsenal’s draw at Sunderland…

Second-half fightback ends in heartbreak

With minutes to go, this looked like being an impressive win for Arsenal.

The Gunners had been poor in the first half and Sunderland’s plan to turn the game into a stop-start affair was effective.

Mikel Arteta’s side could not get into a rhythm and he would have been justified to give his players a dressing down at the break.

Perhaps he did, because Arsenal were a different team in the second half.

The Gunners looked like they had the win tied up after Leandro Trossard’s second-half strike

Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

They played with pace and purpose, and Saka and Trossard’s goals were no more than they deserved.

In truth, Arsenal could have been even further ahead - and Martin Zubimendi had an effort crash against the crossbar.

Read More

Chelsea 0-0 Wolves: Garnacho spurns early chance - LIVE

Arsenal held as Brobbey stunner nicks deserved draw for Sunderland

Sunderland vs Arsenal LIVE: Result and reaction from Premier League

Sponsored

The smart business guide

The Gunners’ hard work, however, was undone deep into injury time when they fell to a late equaliser.

A solid defence has been the cornerstone of Arsenal’s fine start this season and so Sunderland’s late goal came as a shock.

It is not often Arteta’s side fail to deal with a ball into the box, but credit must go to Brobbey for an acrobatic finish.

Ballard ends clean sheet run

All the talk in the build-up to this match was centred around Granit Xhaka, but it was another former Arsenal player that returned to haunt them.

Ballard came through Arsenal’s academy, but he never made a first-team appearance and was loaned out three times before joining Sunderland permanently in 2022.

The defender took his goal against his older club like a seasoned striker, not a centre-back.

Ballard emphatically fired the ball past David Raya after a long free-kick fell kindly for him inside the box.

Dan Ballard scored against his former club

Getty Images

Arsenal may have been frustrated at the awarding of the free-kick, with Martin Zubimendi alleged to have tripped Wilson Isidor, but they defended it poorly.

Ballard beat Rice to the ball in the air, and then was faster than him to it when Nordi Mukkele nodded it back to him in the box.

It was the first time in over 800 minutes that Arsenal had conceded and the goal ended their run of eight consecutive clean sheets.

Arsenal will welcome international break

Much is rightly made of Arsenal’s new squad depth this season, but they look like a side in need of a break.

The Gunners were uncharacteristically sloppy at the back and three away games in the space of eight days must surely have taken their toll.

Arsenal also looked short on options in attack during the first half, too, and they were without six forwards for this game.

The international break cannot come soon enough for the injury-hit Gunners

Richard Sellers/PA Wire

Mikel Merino was once again asked to fill in as a No9 and he was solid enough, assisting Saka for his goal.

Arteta, though, will be delighted to welcome back Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokoeres - who are all hoping to be fit for the north London derby on November 23.

Gabriel Jesus is also back in full training, although he is still a fair few weeks away from a comeback.

Their return will be a welcome boost during the busy festive period.

MORE ABOUT

Click here to read article