Arsenal survive Sunderland: Raya saves the penalty and Guimaraes wins

Arsenal, managed by Mikel Arteta and reigning Premier League champions, had to dig deep at the Stadium of Light against a Sunderland side that made things extremely difficult from the start. As Mundo Deportivo notes, Arteta had already warned before the match that winning there would be complicated, and the game followed that script: a relentless physical battle, with the home team often getting the better of the duels.

Penalty, wonder goal, and pressure

Arsenal controlled the ball early, but the hosts barely let them create clean chances. After an opening warning from Roefs and a strong save from the goalkeeper, the “Black Cats” grew in confidence and began to probe David Raya’s goal more frequently. At half-time, Arteta changed the momentum with a double switch, bringing on Bruno Guimaraes and Timber for Lewis Skelly and White.

In the second half, Sunderland kept squeezing and even forced a penalty to be awarded after Konsa’s involvement. That’s where the defining moment arrived: David Raya read the taker’s intentions and got a fingertip on it so the shot struck the post instead of finding the net, per Mundo Deportivo. Arsenal then finally got themselves out of the constant pressure.

Guimaraes puts it away

When the pace eased, Declan Rice played a pass into the area for Bruno Guimaraes, and the ex-Newcastle man struck a powerful effort into the corner to make it 0-1. Mundo Deportivo underlines how those minutes were a turning point: the side behind in the scoreline lost belief, while Arsenal gained momentum.

Fofana’s arrival added late urgency for Sunderland, with the visitors also denying them at key moments (including an offside/goal cancellation involving Timber). In stoppage time, Bukayo Saka sealed the result 0-2 from the spot after a penalty incident involving Reinildo, who then received a second yellow (90+7'). As Mundo Deportivo concludes, Arsenal survived a tough contest thanks to saves and clinical finishing when it mattered most.