Sports12 September, 20262 min read
Bruno Guimaraes Haunts Sunderland as Arsenal Beat Sunderland 2-0 at Stadium of Light
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Bruno Guimarães scored his first Arsenal goal as Arsenal won 2-0 at Sunderland. David Raya saved Enzo Le Fee's penalty 121 seconds before Guimarães's goal.
21 outlets told this the same way.
Arsenal win at Sunderland
Arsenal beat Sunderland 2-0 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday 12 September 2026, with Bruno Guimaraes scoring a stunning goal two minutes after David Raya saved a penalty. Raya tipped Enzo Le Fee's spot kick onto the post after Sunderland were awarded a penalty when Ezri Konsa was penalised for holding Dan Ballard in the second half.
Just 121 seconds later, Guimaraes crashed a strike in off the underside of the crossbar for his first Arsenal goal, and Arsenal then made the result safe when Bukayo Saka scored a stoppage-time penalty after Reinildo Mandava was shown a second yellow card. The victory moved Arsenal above Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, while Sunderland remained on four points after the defeat.
Arteta calls it unacceptable
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta raged at the decision to award Sunderland a penalty, telling TNT Sports, "It's unacceptable at this level. Unacceptable."
Arteta said he had watched the incident "10 times to make sure" and insisted, "It's not a penalty in any case, in any context, in any league."
The penalty was checked and ratified by VAR after referee Stuart Atwell pointed to the spot, and Atwell said of Konsa, "He's all over him at the near post facing the wrong way,".
Despite the controversy, Arsenal’s response centered on Raya’s save, with the goalkeeper denying Le Fee and then keeping Sunderland out as the match swung to Guimaraes and Saka.
Next tests and pressure
The result gave Arsenal four wins from their opening four Premier League matches, with Sunderland staying on four points after the second league defeat. Looking ahead, the sources say Sunderland must quickly regroup before their Europa League clash against Dutch club AZ Alkmaar midweek, after which they host another test in the schedule.
Arsenal, meanwhile, will look to extend their perfect cup run as they travel to Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup third round, with the refereeing controversy hanging over the build-up. In the immediate aftermath, Guimaraes was asked whether David Raya was the best goalkeeper in the world, and he answered, "Definitely," as Raya’s penalty save was framed as the turning point.