Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal: Premier League – as it happened

8.13pm GMT Miles Starforth was at the Stadium of Light. Here’s his report. Meanwhile thanks for reading this MBM, and remember … Related: Sunderland fight back with late Brobbey equaliser to hold leaders Arsenal … he loves you! 8.09pm GMT Mikel Arteta speaks to Sky. “A really tough test … credit to them … they made it very difficult … very unfortunately at the end we conceded a goal … the time that has been added tells you the story of the game … we created a lot of chances … we conceded two aerial balls … two flicks … they created chaos … that’s the reason they are where they are … now we have the international break … we are really disappointed but we have to go again …I loved the way the team reacted … it’s just a shame we conceded in the last minute but that is the league.” 7.50pm GMT Post-match postbag. “We’ve had a pair of 2-2 draws today featuring teams at the top end of the table. It says something about how good Sunderland are, that this was by a considerable distance the better of these two matches. The Black Cats look like serious contenders for a top-four finish” – Kári Tulinius “It’s hard not to feel enthusiasm for the Sunderland fans (well, unless you are a Newcastle fan). They’ve been through such a crappy few years that it is genuinely heartwarming as a neutral to see other fans go through an adventure like this. In the grim grind of Premier League predictability this is probably as close as we’ll get to fun” – Paul Jaines “As far as Arsenal’s title ambitions are concerned, this is highway Brobbery” – Peter Oh 7.47pm GMT The man of the moment, Dan Ballard, speaks to Sky Sports. “You saw again the fight in the team … it’s incredible … we fight to the end … the amount of late goals we score, it’s brilliant … they caused us a lot of problems … camped in on the edge of the box … we thought we could get something out of the game and we did … if we keep going like this, hopefully we can achieve our goal.” 7.42pm GMT Quite a few grim Arsenal faces. The league leaders thought they’d turned that one around. They were minutes away from their 11th consecutive win in all competitions … but then Brian Brobbey popped up to secure a point for newly promoted Sunderland, who are now third in the table! The Black Cats are obviously delighted, and celebrate a deserved draw after a game of great ebb and flow: Sunderland were the better team in a battling first half, Arsenal showed their title credentials to turn the scoreline around in style, but went too defensive during the last knockings and paid the price against a team who seized the day. Dan Ballard was named player of the match, and deservedly so, having scored a fine goal, set up the other, and blocked what looked a certain winner right at the death. That’s was fine evening’s entertainment, though Arsenal won’t be feeling too chipper about their being a part of it right now. Pos Team P GD Pts 1 Arsenal 11 15 26 2 Man City 10 12 19 3 Sunderland 11 4 19 4 Tottenham Hotspur 11 9 18 5 Liverpool 10 4 18 Updated at 7.49pm GMT 7.36pm GMT FULL TIME: Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal Arsenal concede twice for the first time this season, Sunderland earning a deserved draw in dramatic fashion! Updated at 7.41pm GMT 7.35pm GMT 90 min +8: … and then Talbi nearly takes advantage of a Rice slip to tear clear on goal, but the Arsenal man recovers his poise just in time. 7.35pm GMT 90 min +7: That old Roker Roar fairly crackled the atmosphere. And there’s another as Arsenal threaten to take the lead again. Calafiori heads goalwards from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Roefs star-jumps to block, but the ball sits up for Merino, who surely must score. But his piledriver, from six yards out, is blocked by the sliding Ballard, who arrives from nowhere! What a double stop! 7.33pm GMT 90 min +5: Arsenal are livid, complaining that Brobbey’s boot was high. But he was entitled to go for that dropping ball. VAR has a check, but the goal stands! 7.32pm GMT GOAL! Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal (Brobbey 90+4) Yep! Hume, quarterbacking 35 yards out, dinks a diagonal pass into the mixer. Ballard heads down for Brobbey, who despite being held, bicycle-kicks over the out-rushing Raya and into the net! Wow! Some finish! Updated at 7.35pm GMT 7.31pm GMT 90 min +3: Arsenal are sitting back. Very deep. Are they inviting trouble? 7.30pm GMT 90 min +2: Xhaka drives at the Arsenal defence but there’s no way through. He slips the ball wide to Adingra, whose cross is dealt with by Gabriel. 7.28pm GMT 90 min +1: The first of seven additional minutes. 7.28pm GMT 90 min: Gabriel looks to have been hauled down off the ball by Brobbey, stopping the striker getting to a loose ball. No free kick, though. Rice gets there instead and tries to beat Roefs from inside the centre circle! His effort floats wide right. There would have been some noise had that gone in, for more than one reason. 7.26pm GMT 88 min: … while Mosquera comes on for Eze. Sunderland’s change an attacking one, while Arsenal go defensive. All understandable and as expected. Nothing comes of the throw that’s launched into the mixer. 7.24pm GMT 87 min: Adingra crosses from the left. Saliba heads out for a throw. Before the set piece comes in, Geertrudia is replaced by Mayenda … 7.23pm GMT 85 min: Hume sends a glorious ball into the Arsenal box from a deep position on the right. It’s taken down in his stride by Reinildo, who should launch a first-time shot goalwards, but takes a heavy touch instead. The ball nearly bobbles across to Brobbey, but the striker can’t poke home before Raya comes across to bravely gather. 7.21pm GMT 83 min: Mukiele returns … just in time to rob Rice and set Sunderland off on a counter-attack. Brobbey chases after a long pass down the right, but Calafiori is on point to stop him. 7.19pm GMT 81 min: Mukiele lands awkwardly and requires some treatment. The first long pause in play for a wee while. 7.18pm GMT 79 min: A long throw into the Arsenal box from the left. Ballard flicks it on, towards Brobbey at the far post. Raya swipes at the ball to make things harder for Brobbey, who still manages to prod goalwards. Raya blocks again. A sensational double save, though the flag then goes up for offside anyway. Brobbey was definitely off, but Raya wasn’t to know that. All those clean sheets didn’t happen by accident. 7.16pm GMT 78 min: Calafiori rugby-tackles Hume from behind, as the Sunderland full-back attempts to advance down the right. He should go into the book, but inexplicably gets away with it. Nothing comes of the resulting free kick. 7.13pm GMT 76 min: Ballard and Eze engage in a little bout of wrestling. The big defender comes off best. VAR has a quick look, the referee having showed no interest in it, but there’s nothing doing. It’s Sunderland’s turn to show their frustration. 7.12pm GMT GOAL! Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal (Trossard 74) Rice’s delivery isn’t all that. Sunderland have their chances to clear the ball, but don’t take them. It’s shuttled out left to Trossard, who takes a touch infield. He finds a pocket of space, given too much time by Sadiki and Brobbey. Trossard lines up and fires a rising shot into the top left. Another fine finish as Arsenal turn it around! Updated at 7.16pm GMT 7.10pm GMT 73 min: Reinildo wrestles again with Saka, but this time the Arsenal man wins the duel. As he dribbles away, Reinildo grabs his shirt and goes into the book. Rice to swing in the free kick. 7.08pm GMT 71 min: The resulting free kick is curled in by Xhaka. Arsenal clear. Saka barges into the back of Reinildo, and makes his frustrations known when the whistle goes. The flow of this game has suddenly been disrupted, and it’s a state of affairs that surely favours Sunderland. Arsenal need to get their press going and passes flowing again. 7.06pm GMT 69 min: Calafiori shoves Hume in the back. Hume goes down lightly to win a cheap free kick. Mikel Arteta’s dander is up. 7.06pm GMT 68 min: Reinildo clips Saka out on the right. Rice sends the free kick in. Roefs comes off his line to punch but is checked by Merino. Free kick, and things threaten to spill over when Gabriel arrives on the scene to ask a few arguably unnecessary questions. Roefs calms it all down. 7.03pm GMT 66 min: Saka crosses from the right. Roefs punches clear. Zubimendi chests down on the edge of the D, and Le Tissiers a vicious looping volley that cannons off the crossbar and away. Roefs was rooted to the spot; had that been half an inch lower it was nestling in the top-left corner. What a shot! 7.01pm GMT 64 min: On the ropes, Sunderland make a triple change. Traore, Isidor and Le Fee are replaced by Talbi, Brobbey and Adingra. 7.00pm GMT 62 min: A second Arsenal goal, to clarify. And yet for a second Sunderland look like threatening one of their own, Geertruida slipping a cute ball down the left channel and nearly releasing Sadiki. 6.58pm GMT 61 min: Arsenal are buzzing around relentlessly. Sunderland can’t get out. The leaders probe down both flanks with pace and precision. The ball’s eventually teed up for Eze, who slams a shot straight at Roefs. A second goal feels no more than a matter of time. 6.57pm GMT 60 min: Replays of the equaliser show just how good Saka’s finish was. He had the smallest window in the bottom-right corner to aim for, and forensically fired it home, just out of Roefs’ reach. 6.56pm GMT 58 min: Trossard finds Zubimendi in the box by nutmegging Traore from the left-hand edge of the Sunderland box. Zubimendi swivels and steers a shot across the rooted Roefs. It dribbles inches wide of the right-hand post. So close. Arsenal really do have the wind behind now. 6.53pm GMT 56 min: Arsenal scent blood. Timber enters the Sunderland box down the left but can’t get a shot away. This is one-way traffic. 6.52pm GMT GOAL! Sunderland 1-1 Arsenal (Saka 54) Le Fee tries one twist too many, 30 yards from his own goal. He’s stripped by Rice. Eze rolls the loose ball down the inside-right channel for Saka, who enters the box and fizzes a low shot into the bottom right. It had been coming. Updated at 6.57pm GMT 6.51pm GMT 53 min: Timber shoots from a tight angle on the right. Easy for Roefs. Tension in the home support for the first time this evening. 6.50pm GMT 52 min: Trossard probes down the inside-left channel and cuts back for Zubimendi in a central position. Zubimendi returns the ball instantly, down the same channel, for Saka, who whips a low shot across Roefs and wide right. You’d expect a player as good as Saka to hit the target there. But this is much better from Arsenal, who have flown out of the blocks in this second half. 6.48pm GMT 50 min: Arsenal go up the other end, Rice rolling a pass down the inside right for Zubimendi, who spins and sends a dribbler straight at Roefs. That was a decent chance. 6.48pm GMT 48 min: Sadiki strides with pace and power down the inside-left channel, feeding Isidor to his right. Isidor races into the box but his shot is blocked out for a corner, from which nothing comes. 6.45pm GMT 47 min: Arsenal continue to pin Sunderland back. Sunderland hold their shape. Saka eventually curls a cross in from the right, but it’s overhit. Goal kick. On the touchline, Mikel Arteta shows a bit of frustration before shouting some encouragement. “Nothing against Reinildo, who is a very good player,” begins Justin Kavanagh promisingly, “but is that not a somewhat too-close-to-the-bone name for a footballer? It’s like being called Palé, or, as he’s from Mozambique, Yosébio.” 6.43pm GMT 46 min: Arsenal are on the front foot immediately, and they win a throw deep on the right. Rice dries the ball and launches the throw. Some head tennis. The ball drops to Eze, who takes a swipe goalwards but the shot is blocked the moment it leaves his boot. 6.42pm GMT Arsenal get the second half started. With a very youthful bench, they’ve not made any changes yet. Sunderland are also as they were. 6.30pm GMT As things stand, the top of the Premier League looks like this. A huge second half coming up. Pos Team P GD Pts 1 Arsenal 11 14 25 2 Sunderland 11 5 21 3 Man City 10 12 19 4 Tottenham Hotspur 11 9 18 5 Liverpool 10 4 18 6.27pm GMT HALF TIME: Sunderland 1-0 Arsenal Arsenal concede for the first time in 812 minutes, and Sunderland lead at the break. 6.26pm GMT 45 min +9: … half-cleared. Sadiki crosses from the right. Le Fee, just inside the box on the left, cushions the ball into the path of Mukiele, who drags a fiercely struck low drive wide left. He had to hit the target. A big chance for Sunderland to seriously shock the league leaders. 6.25pm GMT 45 min +8: From a deep position on the left, Xhaka crosses long, hoping to find Isidor at the far stick. Calafiori is forced to eyebrow out for a corner. Ballard wanders over to take it, but not with any great urgency. It’s eventually swung in, and … 6.23pm GMT 45 min +6: Eze sashays down the right and reaches the byine, but can’t find anyone with his cutback. Sunderland could do with hearing the half-time whistle. 6.22pm GMT 45 min +5: Sunderland can’t get out of their final third. Arsenal desperately pressing for the equaliser. They’ve responded well to going behind, which says something about their collective mentality, because they’re not exactly used to being in this position. 6.20pm GMT 45 min +3: Calafiori curls into the Sunderland box from the left. Saka cushions the ball down for Saliba, who is in space but leans back and skies his shot from 12 yards. A huge chance, and Sunderland are livid, because they think Saka had hauled down Reinildo while teeing up his mate. All’s well in the end, but had Saliba scored, that would have sparked quite the philosophical back-and-forth. 6.19pm GMT 45 min +1: Xhaka clambers onto the back of Eze, and earns himself a booking. What odds the combustible Sunderland skipper seeing out the match in this heightened atmosphere against his old pals? 6.17pm GMT 45 min: Sure enough, the board goes up for nine additional minutes. 6.17pm GMT 44 min: Roefs and Geertruida pass it around the back. For too long, as it turns out, and eventually the Arsenal press forces the keeper into slicing out for a throw. Sunderland better not be running the clock down, waiting for the half-time whistle, because there’s going to be a lot of additional time. 6.14pm GMT 42 min: Now Trossard has a nibble at a red and white shirt, conceding another free kick. Arsenal getting collectively irritated. 6.13pm GMT 41 min: Calafiori throws long from the left. Mukiele wins a header, then simply refuses to give way as Calafiori tries to revive the routine. Calafiori, frustrated, clatters into his opponent and the resulting free kick releases the pressure on the hosts. 6.12pm GMT 40 min: Saka crosses from the right. Reinildo blocks. A cheer almost as loud as the one that met the goal. Only almost, though, let’s not get silly. 6.11pm GMT 38 min: The Stadium of Light took off for the moon when that goal went in. Ballard properly roofed that shot, and it was met with a soundtrack to match. Arsenal fall behind for the first time in nine matches. 6.09pm GMT GOAL! Sunderland 1-0 Arsenal (Ballard 36) Roefs sends the resulting free kick down the inside-right channel. Arsenal don’t deal with it. Traore heads down towards Ballard, who powers into the box and takes one touch, before arrowing an unstoppable riser into the top right! There goes that clean-sheet run! Updated at 6.17pm GMT 6.08pm GMT 36 min: Zubimendi clips Isidor from behind, in the hope of stopping a quick break. He’s booked. But much good his cynicism has done him, because … 6.07pm GMT 35 min: Saka dribbles into the Sunderland box from the right. He’s surrounded and has no right to keep going, really, but he manages it, and eventually pokes a shot through the crowd. There’s not any pace on it, though, and that’s easy for Roefs. 6.06pm GMT 33 min: It’s 11 versus 11 again. Merino goes over, and Xhaka, with whom he’s just come second best in a 50-50, leans over him and issues some beneficial advice. Players on both sides running hot. 6.04pm GMT 32 min: Raya gets play restarted with both teams momentarily down to ten men. 6.03pm GMT 31 min: Le Fee is back up on his feet. Timber is still down, having taken a whack to his right eye. He’s getting taped and bandaged up. 6.01pm GMT 30 min: Le Fee and Timber collided during the build-up to that half-chance, and on come the physios. This has been more stop than start. Expect quite a bit of time tacked onto the end of the half. 6.00pm GMT 28 min: Sadiki clips a pass down the inside-left channel, freeing Isidor into space. Isidor enters the box and whips a low shot across Raya and harmlessly wide of the right-hand post. 5.59pm GMT 27 min: … and now it’s Arsenal’s turn to get annoyed when penalised for not very much. Timber catches Le Fee in a 50-50, the whistle goes, and Mikel Arteta spins around waving his arms around in an agitated fashion. An edge developing. 5.58pm GMT 25 min: Reinildo jumps into Timber, contesting a long ball on the edge of the Arsenal box. The Stadium of Light erupts in anger as Arsenal are awarded a free kick. 5.56pm GMT 23 min: Le Fee gets overly intricate near his own D, and gifts the ball to Eze, who attempts a curler towards the top-left corner but gets it all wrong. Sunderland are beginning to make mistakes under relentless Arsenal pressure. 5.55pm GMT 22 min: Ballard scuffs a hopeless pass upfield straight at the nearest blue shirt. He’s fortunate that Merino doesn’t take advantage, shovelling straight through to Roefs, when there were runners either side. 5.53pm GMT 20 min: Traore turns on the jets down the right, and reaches the Arsenal box. Then he loses control of his legs and slips over, options in the middle untapped. A sad end to a rare Sunderland attack. 5.51pm GMT 19 min: A little bit of sterile possession for Sunderland. Much needed, as Arsenal had started to crank up the pressure, over 50 percent of the play in the last five minutes having been in Sunderland’s final third. 5.49pm GMT 17 min: With Saka preparing to dribble down the right, Sadiki is forced to lunge in and concede a corner. The set piece is played short, then pulled back for Rice, who buys another ticket to the raffle from distance. His shot is blocked. 5.48pm GMT 16 min: Rice nearly takes full advantage, his free kick dipping and oscillating at speed towards the bottom right. Roefs stoops and punches clear, albeit in not particularly convincing style. But he’s done his job. 5.47pm GMT 15 min: Isidor and Gabriel contest a high ball, 30 yards from the Sunderland goal. Isidor leads with a high-kick and though he doesn’t make much contact, Gabriel makes sure to make the most of it, and goes down screaming. Xhaka is then doing similar, into the referee’s face, arguing that it’s not a foul. It was soft, but Isidor gave the referee a decision to make with his ungainly challenge, and here we are. 5.44pm GMT 13 min: Eze wedges a pass down the middle, hoping to release Merino, but gets it all wrong. The ball sails through to Roefs. 5.43pm GMT 11 min: Merino is back on. Both teams now need to rediscover their early verve after a long stoppage. 5.42pm GMT 10 min: Merino is back up on his feet. But that was a long check. More checking the state of his jawbone than dealing with any concussion, it would seem. Arsenal down to ten for now. 5.40pm GMT 9 min: Merino is sitting up now, which is better news to report. For a while, he was lying stock still. The doctor still doing his checks. 5.40pm GMT 7 min: Merino doesn’t look in too good a shape. The physio is treating him very carefully. Mikel Arteta is furious, up in the fourth official’s grille, performing the elbow mime. He’s not happy with Ballard’s challenge at all. 5.38pm GMT 6 min: Trossard crosses from the left. Ballard heads clear, though in doing so catches Merino on the lug with a pointy elbow. Accidental, but that’ll have hurt, and the Arsenal player stays down. Updated at 5.47pm GMT 5.37pm GMT 5 min: It’s Arsenal’s turn for a long throw. Rice puts it in from the right, but Sunderland clear their lines without fuss. Sunderland counter, and for a second it looks as though Traore will get on the end of a long ball down the middle, but Calafiori is covering and puts an end to that particular dream. 5.36pm GMT 4 min: All of which means that Arsenal have now gone 13 hours without conceding a goal. 5.35pm GMT 3 min: Eventually the ball’s flung into the mixer. Arsenal can only half clear, and Le Fee wins another throw on the other side of the pitch. Mukiele hoicks this one long as well, but Arsenal deal with this one better. 5.34pm GMT 2 min: Sunderland get their press on early doors. Raya is forced to hack out for a throw. Mukiele prepares to fling it into the box … but before he can do so, the referee needs to fetch a new flag for one of his linesmen. Tum-te-tum. 5.32pm GMT Sunderland get the ball rolling. What an atmosphere! 5.30pm GMT … but before kick-off, there’s a moment of silence in honour and respect of the fallen. A wreath of poppies laid by the centre circle. Immaculately observed. Pin-drop perfect. Then the Last Post. And finally a Roker-style roar of gratitude to break the silence. Here we go, then. Updated at 5.40pm GMT 5.27pm GMT The teams are out! Sunderland in their storied red and white stripes, Arsenal in second-choice mid-Nineties-throwback squiggly blue. A fine anticipatory atmosphere bubbles away, and there are poppy mosaics in the stand ahead Remembrance Sunday. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes. 5.20pm GMT Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris speaks to Sky Sports … “We will see if we can find an opportunity to win … or to score, because it’s really tough to score against them … keep improving … we need play against the best to improve … [Granit Xhaka] is really important for us … a really good player … a strong leader … an ability to lead by example … on the pitch in real time … to help others and create new leaders … so it fits really well with our journey and I hope he will be at his best today.” … then his Arsenal counterpart Mikel Arteta takes his turn. “There is excitement to come here and do what we have been doing … earn the right to win the game … every game in the Premier League is a really tough place to come and we are really aware of that … when you move a player from a deep position to a front position, normally the other way around is easier, that way is more complicated and Mikel [Merino] has done a brilliant job every time … we are going to need him today again.” 5.14pm GMT Early arrivals to this MBM will know that there used to be a picture of a dog in a Sunderland coat at the top. The picture editor has since chased him away, but let’s see if we can entice the little scamp back, because otherwise the email I’m about to publish in today’s Pre-match Postbag will make no sense. Here, boy![clicks fingers, whistles]Here, boy! [sound of scampering]Here you are! Here he is! He’s back! Good boy! What a good boy! OK, sit. Stay. Pre-match postbag. “The dog in your header image has the thousand-yard stare of a life-long human Sunderland supporter” – Andy (not that one) Flintoff. 5.06pm GMT All of the earlier matches have now finished. Barry Glendenning has the details of the 3pms and wins for Everton and West Ham, but only the lunchtime kick-off had any effect on this match, in so much as the point Spurs gained in their 2-2 draw with Manchester United has nudged Sunderland down one spot to fifth. Pos Team P GD Pts 1 Arsenal 10 15 25 2 Man City 10 12 19 3 Tottenham Hotspur 11 9 18 4 Liverpool 10 4 18 5 Sunderland 10 4 18 4.42pm GMT Here’s an illustration of the size and scope of the task facing Sunderland today. Arsenal last conceded a goal at 5.05pm on 28 September. Since then, they’ve only allowed 12 shots on target in 12 hours and 56 minutes of football, over eight-and-a-half matches, a sequence that equals a club record established in 1903, when they were still knocking around in Woolwich. Nick Ames digs deeper. Related: 12 shots in 12 hours: Raya’s unbeaten run goes on and on for miserly Arsenal 4.22pm GMT Sunderland are in If It Ain’t Broke mode. They name the same XI that started the 2-1 win at Chelsea and the 1-1 draw with Everton. This will be the first time Granit Xhaka has faced Arsenal since leaving the Gunners two years ago. Arsenal make three changes after their 3-0 win at Slavia Prague. Eberechi Eze, Martín Zubimendi and Riccardo Calafiori step up; Ethan Nwaneri, Christian Nørgaard and Piero Hincapié sit down. Viktor Gyökeres remains on the injury list with a hamstring problem. Updated at 4.32pm GMT 4.16pm GMT The teams Sunderland: Roefs, Hume, Mukiele, Ballard, Geertruida, Mandava, Traore, Xhaka, Sadiki, Le Fee, Isidor.Subs: Patterson, Neil, Talbi, Brobbey, Rigg, Mayenda, O’Nien, Adingra, Masuaku. Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Eze, Zubimendi, Rice, Saka, Merino, Trossard.Subs: Arrizabalaga, Mosquera, White, Hincapie, Norgaard, Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman, Harriman-Annous. Referee: Craig Pawson.VAR: James Bell. Updated at 4.27pm GMT 4.16pm GMT Preamble Sunderland do not have a good record against Arsenal. The last time these clubs met, four years ago, Arsenal won 5-1 in the League Cup, though the Black Cats were a League One outfit at the time. The last time they met in the Premier League, in 2016-17, Arsenal won 2-0 at home and 4-1 at the Stadium of Light. Arsenal are on a 15-game unbeaten streak against Sunderland in the League that stretches back to 2009, while the last time they lost any game against them was in the FA Cup in 2012. History is not on Sunderland’s side this evening.† The recent form book doesn’t help them either, though that’s only because Arsenal right now are on the hottest streak in the country, in Europe, in the world. The Premier League leaders are currently on a run of ten consecutive wins in all competitions, and eight consecutive clean sheets. Who can compete with numbers like that?! In fact, Sunderland’s own recent form is highly impressive: five Premier League wins already, and unbeaten at home, commendable business for a freshly promoted team. And hey, someone has to score against Arsenal at some point, right? Eh? So there is hope for Sunderland … and we’ve not even priced in the presence in their team of former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka, who is a headline waiting to happen tonight, one way or another. You know how football goes sometimes. Arsenal are hot favourites, but Sunderland are unlikely to go down without a fight. Kick-off is at 5.30pm GMT. It’s on! †: To be fair, Sunderland did beat Arsenal in the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1973, en route to their greatest triumph in the modern era. So there is that. But let’s not cloud the issue.