Sunderland vs Arsenal LIVE
Arsenal continued their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 2-0 win over Sunderland. Bruno Guimaraes netted his first goal for his new side, as the former Newcastle United man scored a stunner at the Stadium of Light.
The returning Jurrien Timber thought he had doubled the visitors’ tally with a bullet header from Martin Odegaard’s free kick, but it was ruled out for offside. That was all after David Raya had saved a penalty from Enzo Le Fee, with Ezri Konsa penalised for wrestling Dan Ballard to the turf during a corner.
Bukayo Saka scored a penalty of his own in stoppage time as Reinildo saw red for hauling down the Gunners’ No7 in the box. Mikel Arteta’s men are now four wins from four this term, in what has been an ideal start to their title defence. They take on Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup third round next, before a trip to Brighton and Hove Albion ahead of the upcoming international break.
Sunderland vs Arsenal latest news
- GOAL! Saka penalty seals it
- NO GOAL! Timber strike ruled out
- GOAL! Guimaraes stunner opens scoring
- GOOD SAVE! Roefs denies Havertz
- PENALTY SAVED! Raya stops Le Fee
What we learned from Arsenal win
22:32 , Oli Gent
Here are Matt Verri’s three key takeaways from this match...
Arsenal ratings
22:09 , Oli Gent
How did Matt Verri rate the Arsenal players?
FT: Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal
21:55 , Oli Gent
There we have it. Arsenal are victorious.
Thanks for joining us on Standard Sport, come back very soon for even more LIVE action.
Goal! Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal
21:55 , Oli Gent
90+7 mins: It’s two late on, as Saka slots home from the spot.
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:53 , Oli Gent
90+6 mins: Bad to worse for Sunderland. Reinildo is sent off as he hauls down Saka, and the visitors have a penalty.
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:51 , Oli Gent
90+4 mins: Time is ticking down. Can Sunderland find an equaliser?
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:49 , Oli Gent
90+1 min: Six added minutes.
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:49 , Oli Gent
90 mins: Gabriel and Mukiele get a yellow each after a scuffle tight to the touchline.
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:43 , Oli Gent
87 mins: Merino replaces Odegaard.
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:42 , Oli Gent
86 mins: Great save! What a ball from Xhaka, and it swings in towards Raya under the crossbar, but the Arsenal keeper just about gets a hand to it from Mukiele, before clawing it clear!
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:39 , Oli Gent
84 mins: Two changes for the Gunners, with Eze and Zubimendi on for Tzolis and Rice.
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:38 , Oli Gent
81 mins: Yellow card for Brobbey for pushing.
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:35 , Oli Gent
79 mins: No goal! Timber thinks he’s scored on his return as he nods Odegaard’s free kick into the corner, but he’s offside!
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:34 , Oli Gent
78 mins: Melee! Fofana is sent speeding towards the byline and gets a cross into the box. Pinball ensues, as Le Fee, and then Brobbey try to put it in, and Mukiele goes for the backheeled finish, but Konsa just about does enough to block!
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:33 , Oli Gent
77 mins: A murmur of excitement from the home fans as Meunier is replaced by Fofana.
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:33 , Oli Gent
76 mins: Off the line! The corner is turned goalwards.. but Ballard nods it off the line!
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:32 , Oli Gent
75 mins: Good save! Odegaard works some space and drives into it. He looks right for Saka, who forces a decent stop from Roefs.
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:31 , Oli Gent
73 mins: And another! Calafiori is counted out at the throw, and it’s reversed!
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:27 , Oli Gent
71 mins: Angulo is replaced by Isidor as the hosts look to switch things up. Maybe time for Fofana as well, perhaps?
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:26 , Oli Gent
70 mins: Xhaka is booked for a foul on Guimaraes, sliding in late.
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:23 , Oli Gent
66 mins: Ballard is booked for a cheap foul. 25 minutes to play.
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:22 , Oli Gent
64 mins: The travelling fans are in full voice. Can Sunderland get back into this one?
Matt Verri reports
21:17 , Oli Gent
60 mins: What a moment for Guimaraes. Booed every time he's touched the ball since coming on and he responds by hammering one in off the bar from distance. No holding back with the celebration, to nobody's surprise.
Goal! Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
21:16 , Oli Gent
59 mins: It’s there, and what a strike. Guimaraes opens the scoring, and what a place to score his first Arsenal goal. He thumps it into the top corner emphaticallyafter the pass from Rice, curling it round Ballard.
Matt Verri reports
21:14 , Oli Gent
57 mins: Konsa and Ballard looked to be holding each other there. When you consider how much wrestling both sets of players have been doing all match, that feels like one Arsenal will feel extremely aggrieved about.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
21:14 , Oli Gent
56 mins: Great save! Raya keeps out Le Fee, tipping the spot kick onto the post!
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
21:12 , Oli Gent
54 mins: Penalty! Pushing and shoving at the set play as Ballard goes to the floor, and Konsa has his arms around the Sunderland man! The referee has no hesitation, and points to the spot!
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
21:08 , Oli Gent
52 mins: Long throw opportunity for the hosts as Danso winds one up. Ballard is up, tangling with Gabriel, but Raya comes and claims.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
21:06 , Oli Gent
50 mins: Brobbey looks to burst away from Konsa, who looks to have stopped him on the slide, but the Sunderland striker gets his body between the defender and the ball again, persisting. He feeds Le Fee, who runs into traffic.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
21:05 , Oli Gent
48 mins: An early mix-up in the Arsenal box under the high ball, but Raya eventually claims.
Kick off!
21:03 , Oli Gent
46 mins: Two changes for the Gunners as we get underway once more. Guimaraes and Timber are on for Lewis-Skelly and White.
Matt Verri reports
20:48 , Oli Gent
Here we go again. Timber and White have hardly ever been fit at the same time over the last couple of seasons and that looks like it might be continuing here. Timber finally back in the squad tonight, but White has been holding his groin and there's every chance he's going to come off at half time. We're going to find out just how fit Timber is.
HT: Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:47 , Oli Gent
There’s the interval.
Nothing to write home about so far, which side can find an opening goal?
What will the second half have in store?
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:45 , Oli Gent
45+1 min: One added minute.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:45 , Oli Gent
45 mins: A worry for the Gunners, as Timber looks to get his shirt on upon instruction from Arteta. Is White injured? He’s holding his groin...
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:44 , Oli Gent
43 mins: Close! The ball comes out for Le Fee following the corner. The Frenchman looks up and has a go from distance, but he drags the left-footed effort wide.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:42 , Oli Gent
42 mins: Sunderland claim a penalty as Angulo runs into Konsa and White dangles a leg. Nothing doing. The ball ricochets for Meunier who has a tame crack, but it deflects wide. Corner.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:42 , Oli Gent
41 mins: The hosts have really grown in belief having not conceded, fuelled by the fervent home support.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:40 , Oli Gent
38 mins: Arteta has been shown a caution for encroaching out of his technical area. The Sunderland fans jeer. At least one referee has taken action against the Arsenal manager...
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:35 , Oli Gent
36 mins: VAR are looking at a potential penalty with the corner delivered and Calafiori down under a challenge from Brobbey, but nothing doing.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:34 , Oli Gent
34 mins: Good save! Havertz takes a floated ball down and juggles it, looking for the improvised acrobatic, and Roefs denies him! Corner, Arsenal.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:33 , Oli Gent
33 mins: The home fans applaud as Sunderland continue to grow into this contest. They haven’t shown much threat going forward, but that will be down to their five defenders on the pitch...
Matt Verri reports
20:29 , Oli Gent
30 mins: Arsenal tidy enough in possession but Sunderland have been pretty comfortable so far. Scrappy game is suiting them just fine. Has the feel of the trip to Villa Park for the Gunners, when they had to be patient and battle to eventually take control.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:28 , Oli Gent
29 mins: Free kick, Arsenal. Saka makes a dart down the right and Angulo and Reinildo double up on him. The left-back wrestles him to the ground, and gets a yellow.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:27 , Oli Gent
26 mins: The home fans are looking to gee their side up as Arsenal slow the game down with restarts. We’ve just seen the referee forced into a countdown with White taking too long on a throw.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:24 , Oli Gent
23 mins: Close! Gabriel takes matters into his own hands and goes for a long-range effort, but he drags it wide of the mark.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:20 , Oli Gent
20 mins: Approaching the halfway mark of the first period. Nothing to really shout about from either side. Who can find that elusive opener?
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:16 , Oli Gent
17 mins: Brought back for the free kick for the foul on Brobbey. It’s whipped in by Xhaka, in towards Ballard at the near post! The defender looks to make contact, but he can’t direct it goalwards!
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:16 , Oli Gent
16 mins: All hands on deck for the hosts, but it’s cleared well and up to Brobbey, who backs into Konsa and brings in Le Fee for the counter. The Frenchman dallies as his striker makes the burst in behind, and he doesn’t find him!
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:13 , Oli Gent
13 mins: A relatively slow start to this game but Rice looks to unlock it with a lofted ball into the box for Saka to attack, but Roefs is alive to it to claim.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:09 , Oli Gent
10 mins: Mukiele advances for the first time from right centre-back, and he sends an inviting ball in. Konsa clears, but there was some slight panic in the Arsenal box for a second.
Matt Verri reports
20:07 , Oli Gent
8 mins: Konsa was left one-on-one with Joao Pedro last week and did a really good job. Looks like he might get a similar job here, with Arsenal committing plenty of numbers forward and trusting Konsa up against Brobbey.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:07 , Oli Gent
7 mins: 88 per cent possession for the champions in these opening exchanges, but nothing Le Bris won’t have expected.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:06 , Oli Gent
5 mins: Early pressure from Arsenal as Odegaard looks to pick up the pockets between the lines. Rice gives it away, and Sunderland look for Brobbey over the top of Konsa, but the England defender snuffs out the danger.
Sunderland 0-0 Arsenal
20:03 , Oli Gent
3 mins: Lewis-Skelly is the sole holder for the Gunners in this 4-3-3 shape. It’s a bit lopsided, with Odegaard more advanced than Rice, but that’s how the visitors are lined up in midfield.
Kick off!
20:00 , Oli Gent
1 min: We’re underway.
Five minute warning!
19:55 , Oli Gent
The players are out, and we’re about to get underway.
10 minutes to kick off
19:51 , Oli Gent
Who will win this one?
A good welcome for Guimaraes...
19:47 , Oli Gent
Safe to say that the former Newcastle man is not well-liked in these parts...
A warm welcome to Sunderland for Bruno Guimarães 😅 pic.twitter.com/jBcjUUF9Bs
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 12, 2026
Arteta on team selection
19:43 , Oli Gent
The Spaniard told TNT: "We’re in a congested period right now. We're playing midweek games as well.
"We made four changes against Napoli, we make another four for today and we try to keep all the players connected with a high level of confidence, and with the right chemistry in and around the team."
Arteta on Timber
19:39 , Oli Gent
"He’s in contention to play minutes for the team, something that we haven't had for many months with him, and we know the type of player and personality that we have,” the Spaniard told TNT Sports.
Half an hour to kick off
19:33 , Oli Gent
Here are the two teams once more for those that missed them...
Sunderland XI: Roefs; Meunier, Mukiele, Ballard, Danso, Reinildo; Xhaka, Sadiki, Le Fee; Angulo, Brobbey
Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard; Saka, Tzolis, Havertz
Arsenal confirm late transfer
19:28 , Oli Gent
Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Andria Bartishvili on a pre-contract agreement, with the highly-rated Georgian forward due to join up next summer.
Still just 17 years old, Bartishvili is presently on loan at Georgian club Iberia 1999, where he is enjoying his first taste of top-flight football. His parent club, Kolkheti 1913, operates Georgia’s second tier.
Welcome to The Arsenal, Andria! 👊
— Arsenal Academy (@ArsenalAcademy) September 11, 2026
We are delighted to announce we've reached a pre-contract agreement to sign Georgian forward Andria Bartishvili in July 2027 ❤️
Bad news for Arsenal...
19:21 , Oli Gent
Gabriel Martinelli is in form since arriving in Saudi Arabia.
The former Gunners winger has netted a hat-trick for his new side Al Hilal today, beating Al Tawooun 6-0.
Earlier today...
19:14 , Oli Gent
Chelsea took on Hull in a crazy set of 3pm kick-offs today.
How did they do? Arthur Ferridge was at Stamford Bridge...
Stat attack
19:07 , Oli Gent
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 17 Premier League meetings with Sunderland, winning 11.
Victory here would make it the sixth time the Gunners had started a top-flight league campaign with four wins from four, winning the league title in each of the first three times.
Can they retain the title this season?
For Sunderland...
19:00 , Oli Gent
A back five, it seems, for Le Bris.
Mukiele tucks into right centre-back, joining Ballard and Danso in the middle, while Reinildo is at left wing-back, with former PSG man Meunier keeping the width on the right.
It is a midfield three, but it could be a four out of possession. Le Fee will likely have a freer role when on the ball, but when defending, he is likely to drift wide, along with Angulo, and cover the flanks to double up on Saka and Tzolis.
Brobbey, who scored that dramatic late equaliser in this fixture last time out, leads the line, and will be key to getting the hosts up the pitch when they look to counter. Gabriel is on for some wrestling match tonight.
Matt Verri reports
18:54 , Oli Gent
No surprises in that Arsenal lineup. Only real decision came in midfield and it’s Lewis-Skelly again getting the nod over Guimaraes, who can expect a hostile reception if he comes on. Big boost for Arsenal to have Timber back on the bench. Could be in line for only his second appearance since mid-March.
Arsenal lineup
18:47 , Oli Gent
Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard; Saka, Tzolis, Havertz
Subs: Kepa, Hincapie, Eze, Timber, Gyokeres, Madueke, Merino, Zubimendi, Guimaraes
Sunderland lineup
18:46 , Oli Gent
Sunderland XI: Roefs; Meunier, Mukiele, Ballard, Danso, Reinildo; Xhaka, Sadiki, Le Fee; Angulo, Brobbey
Subs: Ellborg, Hume, O’Nien, Alderete, Methalie, Talbi, Rigg, Fofana, Isidor
Teams next!
18:39 , Oli Gent
Who will start for who?
Why is this game kicking off late?
18:30 , Oli Gent
For the first time this season, there is no offering of an early kick-off from the Premier League today.
Regular watchers of English football’s top-flight have become accustomed to a 12.30pm kick-off on a Saturday for many seasons now, with TNT Sports usually the live television broadcaster.
The early games this season has been Manchester United's shock loss to newly-promoted Hull, Liverpool's 2-2 draw at home to Nottingham Forest and an entertaining draw between Newcastle and Bournemouth.
However, there will NOT be a 12.30pm BST Premier League kick-off this afternoon.
Arteta reveals new Arsenal ambition
18:22 , Oli Gent
Mikel Arteta wants to make Arsenal the "best club in the world" as he prepares to sign a new contract.
The Spaniard's existing deal expires at the end of the season but there has never been any indication that fresh terms would not be agreed.
Arteta has repeatedly insisted that there is no rush with the situation, indicating last month that it was only a matter of time until a new contract was signed.
Arteta's injury update
18:15 , Oli Gent
Two absentees for Arsenal last time out, and they both came in defence.
Jurrien Timber has been struggling with a groin issue since last season.
On him, Arteta said: "Let's see, we have another training session [on Friday].
"He's been doing really well, he's been training with us now for a few days and he looks in good shape."
Cristhian Mosquera appears more unlikely to be involved, having missed the last two matches with a muscle issue suffered in the win over Aston Villa.
"He's been doing really well," Arteta said of the Spaniard. "Let's see if he can get this game or the next one. It will be around that time, I think."
Standard Sport prediction
18:07 , Oli Gent
The champions have started well, in an ominous warning to the rest of the Premier League.
Three wins from three, and they showed character and resilience against Chelsea last time out. Grinding out a 1-0 victory in Naples was impressive too.
Sunderland away is always a tough ask, as shown last year, but the Gunners should have enough to claim all three points.
Arsenal to win, 2-1.
Arsenal team news: Defensive changes?
18:00 , Oli Gent
Another change is expected at left-back, with Riccardo Calafiori set to return in place of Piero Hincapie.
Jurrien Timber and Cristhian Mosquera are both pushing to be included in the squad and a late decision will be made on their fitness, while Ben White is available to face Sunderland after going off late against Napoli.
Timber has made just one appearance since mid-March - off the bench in the Champions League final in May - but he has stepped up his recovery in recent weeks and travelled to Italy on Tuesday, though was not part of the squad.
Arsenal team news: Guimaraes to start?
17:52 , Oli Gent
Bruno Guimaraes could make his first Premier League start for Arsenal against Sunderland tonight.
The £75million summer signing from Newcastle has endured a slow start to his career in north London due to minor injury issues.
Guimaraes, the former Newcastle captain, is guaranteed a hostile reception at the Stadium of Light but that is unlikely to impact Arteta's thinking.
Christos Tzolis and Kai Havertz should both come back into the starting lineup, after only making cameos off the bench in the 1-0 league phase win in Naples on Wednesday night.
Sunderland team news
17:45 , Oli Gent
Romaine Mundle and Habib Diarra are the two absentees for the Black Cats.
Mundle is out with a long-term knee injury, which has stunted his development after a promising pre-season, while Diarra is nursing a hamstring problem.
How to watch
17:37 , Oli Gent
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage starting at 6.30pm BST ahead of an 8pm kick-off.
Live stream: TNT Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the HBO Max app and website.
Hello and welcome
17:30 , Oli Gent
... to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Arsenal’s trip to Sunderland.
The Gunners are looking for a fourth win from four this evening at the Stadium of Light.
Stay tuned for all the updates, with kick off at 8pm BST.
