It was the two ex-Arsenal men – Xhaka and Ballard – who perhaps epitomised Sunderland’s battling spirit best.
Xhaka was the leader on the pitch, orchestrating things in the middle, while Ballard drove the opener past David Raya, provided an assist for the equaliser, and made a brilliant block in the final few seconds to prevent Arsenal snatching the win.
Ballard started his professional career at the Gunners, having been in the club’s academy since the age of eight, but did not make a first-team appearance for them before joining Sunderland in 2022.
“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 told Match of the Day after Saturday’s game.
“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.”
Former England striker Alan Shearer told BBC Match of the Day: “Ballard epitomised everything Sunderland have done so well, with his aggression and stopping Arsenal play.
“They are really, really tough to play against and there were so many examples of him and his team putting their bodies in the line. Arsenal will not have many tougher games than that this season, and Sunderland thoroughly deserved the point.”
The draw means Sunderland remain unbeaten at home and they have 19 points from 11 games, well on the way to avoiding relegation as they sit nine points above the bottom three.
“Sunderland went physical today but within the laws of the game, apart from one moment in the first half when Dan Ballard challenged Mikel Merino in the box,” Match of the Day pundit and former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott said.
“They were well organised and I didn’t think they’d be able to keep it up for 90 minutes.
“There’s a reason why Sunderland will be fine in this league. The Stadium of Light is not an easy place to play football.
“It was the most rattled I’ve seen Gabriel and William Saliba this season.”
