Raya Stars as Arsenal Stay Perfect at Sunderland

Arsenal stayed perfect. The champions beat Sunderland 2-0 at the Stadium of Light on 12 September to keep their 100% start to their Premier League title defence, according to BBC Sport.

Two minutes changed everything. Sunderland won a penalty when Dan Ballard was fouled by Ezri Konsa. Enzo Le Fee stepped up. David Raya saved it.

Then Arsenal struck. Just 121 seconds after that save, Bruno Guimaraes scored to put the visitors ahead. It was the kind of swing that empties one end of a ground and sends the other into noise.

The second goal came late. Bukayo Saka won a penalty and scored it himself to seal the win. Sunderland defender Reinildo Mandava gave away the spot-kick and was sent off.

Raya was the difference. BBC Sport gave the Arsenal goalkeeper 8 out of 10 in its player ratings for the match, the highest mark on either side.

Sunderland had their moments. Ballard, Granit Xhaka and Brian Brobbey all earned 7 out of 10 ratings. Goalkeeper Robin Roefs was given 6. Christos Tzolis got 5. Reinildo finished on 4 after the late penalty and red card.

Arsenal were not at their smoothest. Saka took a 6 after his late penalty win and conversion. Kai Havertz also got 6. Ben White was rated 5. Konsa and Myles Lewis-Skelly both finished on 4.

What makes this stand out is where it happened. Sunderland lost only four of 19 home games in the 2025/26 season, according to Arsenal’s preview of the trip. This is a hard place to come.

There was history too. The sides drew 2-2 at Wearside last November, when Brobbey’s injury-time equaliser denied Arsenal an 11th straight win in all competitions. Arsenal arrived this time with five wins from five in all competitions and a point to settle.

For fans, this means momentum. Champions need nights like this. A saved penalty at one end. A goal almost straight from the restart. A late second to kill the nerves. No fuss, three points, perfect record intact.