Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at Sunderland is clearly a case of two points dropped, but the more accurate takeaway is simpler: learn to control the game or risk getting overwhelmed by chaos.
Mikel Arteta’s team showed resilience, quality and nerve for most of the game, only to fall at the final hurdle.
The first half belonged to Sunderland: they were physical, bitty and deliberately disruptive. From the opening exchanges, the plan was obvious – launch the ball from deep, crowd the box, fight for the first ball and feast on the second ball.
Dan Ballard’s opener was the blueprint made flesh: win the duel, react first, punish. Arsenal didn’t adjust quickly enough and lost their rhythm to a thousand cuts.
Then came the response. For much of the second half, Arsenal were excellent – arguably as sharp as they’ve been against a low block all season.
Declan Rice set the tone with front-foot pressing, the combinations snapped into life, and Bukayo Saka’s equaliser arrived as the reward for purpose, not panic, while Leandro Trossard’s thunderbolt for 2-1 showcased a player in peak form.
However, all of that is no good if you can’t finish the game right. As Sunderland returned to type – direct balls, bodies in the area, relentless pressure on first and second contacts – Arsenal lost control of proceedings.
The goal they conceded in stoppage-time encapsulated the warnings: one lost aerial, hesitation from the goalkeeper, a defender losing his footing, and the door left ajar for Brian Brobbey to smash through.
David Raya’s front-foot aggression is part of Arsenal’s identity, but this moment asked for a calmer reading of the game; staying home likely ends the danger. You can acknowledge months of excellence at the back and still admit this was avoidable.
It’s easy to pin everything on substitutions. In truth, a thin attacking bench was never going to transform the script. Fresh legs at full-back to carry the ball and gain territory might have helped, but the deeper fix is structural: repeatable habits that make the boring bits of winning automatic.
When an opponent commits six or seven players into your box, rest-defence positions, box leadership and decision speed cannot be optional. Champions turn mayhem into routine.
Admittedly, there were a fair few positives. Trossard looks electric. Saka’s finishing off either foot now stretches game plans. Rice never hid when the game became heavy. And Jurrien Timber and William Saliba still provide a platform most teams would envy.
Context matters, too: after a demanding run and with attackers missing, Arsenal extended their position at the top. Sunderland are flying and will bloody more noses at home.
But standards, not sympathy, set ceilings. If Arsenal intend to win titles, the last five minutes must mirror the best thirty that preceded them. Bank the resilience, keep the attacking verve, and add the one non-negotiable quality of champions: the ability to suffocate chaos on command.
This draw will age well on its own. It becomes damaging only if the lesson goes unlearned.
