Former Arsenal defender Dan Ballard fired Sunderland ahead with a powerful finish in the 36th minute at the Stadium of Light which ended the Gunners’ run of eight consecutive clean sheets in all competitions.
Bukayo Saka levelled with a composed finish in the 54th minute before, Leandro Trossard smashed Arsenal into the lead from the edge of the Sunderland area in the 76th minute.
Arsenal were within touching distance of an 11th successive victory in all competitions, but Brobbey stabbed home from Ballard’s header to earn a point in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
It was the first time they had failed to win in any competition since a 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the top flight on Sept 21.
“We conceded two similar goals, which is not good enough for ourselves,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.
“But it’s true that we showed an incredible resilience and courage to come back. Even at the end after we conceded the goal we had a massive chance to win it.”
As they chase a first English title since 2004, Arsenal hold a four-point lead at the top after Manchester City defeated Liverpool 3-0 yesterday in what was City boss Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th game as a manager at the top level.
Erling Haaland missed an early penalty at the Etihad Stadium, but the City striker recovered to give Guardiola’s side the lead.
Nico Gonzalez increased their advantage before half-time and Jeremy Doku capped his man of the match performance with City’s third in the second half.
It was the perfect way for former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Guardiola to mark the latest milestone in a glittering 17-year career, including 716 victories.
Liverpool have lost seven of their last 10 matches in all competitions and trail Arsenal by eight points.
They are marooned in eighth place after the momentum from successive wins over Aston Villa and Real Madrid dissipated into the rainy Manchester air.
At the City Ground, Nottingham Forest defeated Leeds United 3-1 to bolster their survival bid, in what was their first league victory since beating Brentford on the opening weekend of the season in August.
Nuno Espirito Santo was in charge of Forest then, before being sacked to make way for Ange Postecoglou, whose brief reign also ended with his dismissal before Sean Dyche took charge.
Second-bottom Forest’s maiden top-flight victory under Dyche’s management ended their nine-match winless run in the competition and lifted them to within one point of safety.
Aston Villa thrashed Bournemouth 4-0 to make it five wins from their last six league games, while Brentford defeated Newcastle 3-1 and Crystal Palace and Brighton shared a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park to leave both teams in mid-table.
Meanwhile, on Saturday Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester shared a dramatic 2-2 draw, with Bryan Mbeumo fireing United ahead in the 32nd minute amid mounting discontent among home fans.
Booed off at half-time, Tottenham hit back and looked to have secured a dramatic victory after Mathys Tel equalised in the 84th minute and Richarlison deflected in a shot from Wilson Odobert in the 91st minute.
But United defender Matthijs de Ligt powered in a 96th minute header to extend his side’s unbeaten run to five games.
Tottenham’s failure to hold onto the lead was another blow to their dismal record in home league games in 2025, which includes only one win in six top-flight matches in north London this term.
Neither manager was satisfied with the outcome and United boss Ruben Amorim said: “We have so much to grow as a team because today was our day to win. If we have a little bit more bravery, we can kill this game.”
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank added: “A lot of things we could have done a bit better. The last goal is all about the urgency, maybe don’t give the cross away and defend better.”
Seventh-placed United have now failed to beat fourth-placed Tottenham in eight meetings, including a 1-0 defeat in the Europa League final in May.
Wins for West Ham and Everton
West Ham boosted their bid to avoid relegation with a 3-2 win against fellow strugglers Burnley at the London Stadium.
Burnley took the lead in the 35th minute when Lesley Ugochukwu’s cross reached Zian Flemming and the Dutch forward headed home from close range.
Callum Wilson hauled West Ham level with a predatory finish from the rebound after Crysencio Summerville’s shot was saved in the 44th minute.
Tomas Soucek netted for West Ham in the 77th minute, the Czech midfielder bundling in from close range after Lucas Paqueta’s cross was parried into his path by Burnley keeper Martin Dubravka.
And, when Dubravka fumbled the ball towards Kyle Walker-Peters in the 87th minute, the defender’s clinical finish put the result beyond doubt.
Josh Cullen’s stoppage-time strike was no consolation for Burnley.
Third-bottom West Ham’s second successive win moved them level on points with fourth-bottom Burnley.
Everton ended a three-game winless run with a 2-0 victory over Fulham at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane were the scorers for David Moyes’ men.
Chelsea beat Wolves 3-0 in Saturday’s late game with goals from Malo Gusto, Joao Pedro and Pedro Neto.