Raya penalty save helps Arsenal beat Sunderland as Arteta disputes decision

Arsenal maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 2-0 win at Sunderland on Saturday, September 12, as David Raya saved a penalty before Bruno Guimaraes and Bukayo Saka scored. Opta Analyst reported that the defending champions have now won all four of their opening league matches in the 2026-27 campaign.

Watch the highlights:

The first half brought opportunities at both ends without a goal. According to Opta Analyst, Dan Ballard sent an effort wide from Granit Xhaka's free-kick, while Kai Havertz fired over from a Martin Odegaard cut-back. Havertz later forced goalkeeper Robin Roefs into a fingertip save with a shot on the turn, leaving the sides level at the interval.

The decisive sequence came after Sunderland were awarded a penalty for an incident involving Ezri Konsa and Ballard. Raya touched Enzo Le Fee's effort against the post to keep Arsenal level. BBC Sport reported that, just 121 seconds later, substitute Guimaraes put the visitors ahead with a curling shot that went in off the underside of the crossbar.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta strongly disputed the penalty decision in his post-match comments to BBC Match of the Day. He argued that Ballard had pulled Konsa down and said video review should have prevented the award. Referee John Brooks's decision stood after the VAR check. The disagreement did not change the result, but Arteta maintained that the call could have cost Arsenal the match.

Sunderland continued to threaten after falling behind. Opta Analyst reported that Nordi Mukiele sent an acrobatic effort onto the roof of the net and later forced another save from Raya. Saka eventually secured the points with a stoppage-time penalty after being brought down by Reinildo, who received a second yellow card and was sent off.

BBC Sport reported that Arsenal have now won nine successive Premier League matches, a run they last achieved in 2003-04. Their defensive record has also remained strong: five clean sheets in six games across all competitions this season, including each of their three away fixtures.