Raya penalty save sparks Arsenal's 2-0 win at Sunderland — SkimNews
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- Arsenal beat Sunderland 2-0 to maintain their 100% Premier League start despite the source describing the performance as "sub-par"
- David Raya earned an 8/10 rating for a "superb" penalty save made while Arsenal were struggling in the match
- Bruno Guimaraes scored a thunderbolt 121 seconds after Raya's save — his first Arsenal goal — after coming on as a half-time substitute
- Bukayo Saka won the late penalty that sealed the win and scored it "just," but was "kept largely quiet" and missed a one-on-one chance earlier
- Reinildo Mandava was shown a late red card for conceding the penalty Saka scored, earning a 4/10 rating against Saka
- Granit Xhaka delivered quality set-pieces for Sunderland and made a goal-saving clearance with the last kick of the first half, earning a 7/10
- Ezri Konsa conceded the first-half penalty for hauling down Dan Ballard and struggled against Brian Brobbey, while Myles Lewis-Skelly was "sloppy on the ball" and withdrawn at the break — both rated 4
Why it matters: Arsenal's perfect start to their title defence masks a performance that required a goalkeeper penalty save and a substitute wonder goal to beat a promoted side. Six Arsenal players were rated 5/10 or below, including two first-half substitutions, suggesting Mikel Arteta's side have significant room to improve despite the clean three wins from three.
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