Arsenal latest: Culprit for Sunderland draw named as Pep Guardiola plays Mikel Arteta mind games

Arsenal were held to a 2-2 draw by Sunderland on Sunday, with the Black Cats scoring a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser to earn a valuable point

Arsenal's push for the title hit its first stumbling block in more than two months as they were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw with Sunderland. The Black Cats not only claimed a crucial point against the in-form league leaders but also brought an end to Arsenal's impressive streak of eight straight clean sheets.

Ironically, it was ex-Arsenal academy defender Daniel Ballard who opened the scoring for the home side midway through the first half. After the interval, the visitors responded with purpose, as Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard turned things around to hand the Gunners a 2-1 advantage.

However, just as victory looked certain, Brian Brobbey struck in the fourth minute of added time to secure Sunderland a dramatic equaliser. Arsenal remain at the top of the table but the aura of dominance surrounding Mikel Arteta's team has taken a hit.

The timing could hardly be worse. Arsenal now have to sit with the frustration over the final international break of the year before facing a challenging run of games against Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Chelsea. Here, football.london reviews all the most recent Arsenal-related stories.

Guardiola starts mind games

Pep Guardiola isn't widely known for psychological tactics but he appeared eager to send Arsenal a few subtle messages ahead of this weekend's matches. The Manchester City manager described the Gunners as "unbelievable" and implied they were the standard to beat, noting that his own squad were still working to regain their rhythm.

That said, he also reminded Arteta's players that they aren't champions yet - and cautioned that his side, after a slow beginning, are starting to find momentum.

"We cannot compare ourselves, they [Arsenal] are unbelievable," Guardiola said. "I think we are learning to play better against different shapes, man-marking or low blocks or deep that at the beginning we struggled a little bit to read exactly what we had to do. And like I said one month ago, I have the feeling that we are getting better.

"I said yesterday, the big teams, when you win, from my experience, when you arrive at the end of April, May, to win the titles is how much you grew up from September, October and every month. The teams who win are the teams who grow. And that I had a feeling that we are getting better.

"On Sunday we play against, right now, the champions. Arsenal is not the champion, the champion is Liverpool. They come here to defend the title. We experienced that. "And it's a chance to prove ourselves against the last champions of the Premier League, what is our level, and I'm so excited to play."

Arsenal legend points to Sunderland culprit

David Seaman has held David Raya responsible for Arsenal's dropped points at Sunderland, arguing the keeper's late mistake denied them victory. The Spaniard was caught off guard deep into stoppage time when Brobbey beat him to a loose ball inside the box, allowing the Sunderland forward to poke home into an empty net and earn a 2-2 draw.

Seaman - who featured over 500 times for Arsenal across 12 years - questioned Raya's judgment and suggested he should have punched the ball away instead of trying to catch it.

"Whether Raya should come, I'd question that," the former England No. 1 said on Premier League Productions after the game. "And the way he comes for the ball, he tries to catch it, is he aware of the guy [Brobbey] getting close?

"It's a great finish by Brobbey but I would just question the decision of Raya, whether he should come and try to punch it, rather than try to catch it."

Raya has been among the Premier League's most consistent goalkeepers in recent campaigns and has been central to Arsenal's strong defensive record this season. However, moments of doubt like the one at the Stadium of Light, Seaman warned, could prove damaging in the title chase.

Still, the Arsenal icon called for perspective, insisting the result isn't cause for alarm. "This was a difficult game, especially when you looked at it first half," he said. "It looked difficult, Sunderland were well-organised and they knew exactly what they needed to do with Arsenal - hit it long, play in Arsenal's half rather than play it out from the back.

"When they did play out from the back it cost them a goal. But Arsenal… they're in a good position because this was a big test."

Penalty disagreement

Theo Walcott is convinced Arsenal should have been awarded a penalty against Sunderland but Alan Shearer sees it differently. During the first half, Arsenal's Mikel Merino took an elbow to the face from Black Cats defender Dan Ballard inside the area, prompting strong appeals for a penalty from the Gunners.

Despite a VAR review and Merino needing lengthy treatment, no spot kick was given. The decision sparked debate on Match of the Day, with Gunners hero Walcott insisting his old club had been hard done by.

"I do feel like his elbow was in quite a high condition, shall we call it, and it was very disruptive," he said. "Mikel Arteta spoke about being disruptive, and he's definitely, in my opinion, he's disruptive and there's a slight movement from the elbow to Merino's cheekbone.

Shearer, on the other hand, disagreed, saying: "I think as a defender, if he allows that forward to get across him, his manager goes absolutely berserk at him. That's his space and he cannot allow any forward to get across him.

"So he then settles himself and then he goes for the header. You can't jump without doing that [raising his arms] for a header - and I don't think there's anything deliberate there at all. I think it's more brilliant defending than anything else."