Premier League: How Sunderland stopped the Arsenal machine
Perhaps those who best exemplified Sunderland’s fighting spirit were two former Arsenal players, Xhaka and Ballard.
Xhaka was the leader of the pitch and ran things in the middle, while Ballard headed the first goal past David Raya, provided the assist for the equalizer and made a superb block in the final few seconds to prevent Arsenal from snatching the win.
Ballard, who has been in the club’s academy since the age of eight, began his professional career at Arsenal but did not feature for the first team before joining Sunderland in 2022.
“It’s a good morale boost to show that we can go up against a really top team – probably one of the best in Europe at the moment – and we’re pleased with that,” Ballard told Match of the Day after Saturday’s match.
“But this is just one point and we have a lot of work to do to achieve our goal of staying at the top this year.”
Former England striker Alan Shearer told BBC Match of the Day: “Ballard was a good example of everything Sunderland do, with his aggression and stopping Arsenal’s play.
“They are really difficult to play against and there were many examples of him and his team putting their bodies on the line. Arsenal will not have a tougher game this season and Sunderland thoroughly deserved this point.”
The draw means Sunderland remain unbeaten at home and are on course to avoid relegation, having collected 19 points from 11 games and sitting nine points above the bottom three.
Match of the Day commentator and former Arsenal striker Theo Walcott said: “Sunderland put in a physical performance today but within the rules of the game, apart from a moment in the first half when Dan Ballard challenged Mikel Merino in the penalty area.”
“They were well organized and I didn’t think they could keep it up for 90 minutes.
“There’s a reason Sunderland are good in this league. The Stadium of Light is not an easy place to play football.
“Gabriel and William Saliba were the most shocking I’ve seen this season.”
