Arsenal’s thrilling winning run came to a dramatic end on Saturday as Brian Brobbey’s stoppage-time equaliser earned Sunderland a 2-2 draw, giving Premier League title chasers Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool some relief.
At the Stadium of Light, Dan Ballard put high-flying Sunderland in front after 36 minutes, the first time Arsenal’s defence had been breached in nine matches.
But Arsenal looked poised for an 11th straight win after Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard, with an unstoppable shot past Robin Roefs, overturned the home side’s lead
Brobbey, however, struck in the 94th minute with great athleticism in volleying past David Raya from close range to deny the leaders three points and send the crowd into raptures.
Ballard said the draw, which leaves Sunderland in a lofty fourth spot on 19 points, felt like a win.
“I’d say so, it’s a good morale boost to show we can go against a really top team – probably one of the best in Europe at the minute – and delighted with that,” Ballard said in an interview.
“But it is just one point and we’ve got a lot of work to do to achieve our goal of staying up this year.”
Mikel Arteta’s side have 26 points and a six-point lead over London rivals Chelsea before third-placed Manchester City (19) host champions Liverpool (18) in sixth on Sunday.
Chelsea climbed to second in the table with a 3-0 thrashing of bottom team Wolverhampton Wanderers that extended the visitors’ miserable losing streak.
Second-half goals from Malo Gusto, Joao Pedro and Pedro Neto at Stamford Bridge sealed the victory.
Enzo Maresca’s side are six points behind leaders Arsenal, while Wolves remain rooted to the bottom with two points from 11 games — the worst start in the club’s history.
“They (Wolves) were compact in the first half, we struggled to find space between the lines,” Chelsea defender Gusto said in an interview. “The second half was better, we found each other more easily and that’s why we scored the first goal.”
“Three points (are) important before the international break. We are here for the top four, that’s our aim.”
Saturday’s Premier League Results
Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Manchester United
Everton 2-0 Fulham
West Ham United 3-2 Burnley 3-2
Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal
Chelsea 3-0 Wolves.
Premier League/Reuters.