Arsenal match 22-year Premier League streak after Sunderland win

Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Sunderland has taken Mikel Arteta’s side to a level they have not reached in the Premier League for 22 years.

The champions have now won nine consecutive league matches, stretching back into last season.

According to Opta Analyst’s post-match data, that is Arsenal’s longest Premier League winning run since March 2004.

That previous sequence also stopped at nine.

It came during the era of Arsène Wenger’s Invincibles.

It's all over and Arsenal record an extremely hard-fought win at the Stadium of Light.

They were really tested there but held firm incredibly impressively. pic.twitter.com/tSNDs533Z8

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 12, 2026

Arsenal equal 2004 winning run

Comparisons with the Invincibles need some context.

Arsenal’s famous 2003/04 side ultimately went 49 league matches without defeat, a sequence consisting of 36 victories and 13 draws.

ReadArsenal’s permanent Arsenal Invincibles guide covers that historic unbeaten run in full.

Arteta’s current team are not close to matching that unbeaten record.

However, nine successive Premier League victories represents another indication of the consistency Arsenal have carried over from their title-winning 2025/26 campaign.

Saturday’s victory was hardly routine.

Sunderland recorded more shots than Arsenal and pushed the champions throughout the second half, while David Raya had to save Enzo Le Fée’s penalty with the game goalless.

Bruno Guimarães then scored just 121 seconds later before Bukayo Saka added a stoppage-time penalty.

Opta described the Sunderland fixture as Arsenal’s toughest Premier League examination of the campaign so far.

That makes extending the winning sequence even more impressive.

Arsenal make perfect start to title defence

There is another significant piece of history behind Arsenal’s start.

Arteta’s side have won each of their opening four Premier League fixtures.

Arsenal have achieved that only three other times in the competition:

2003/04
2004/05
2022/23

They have now added 2026/27 to that list.

The first of those seasons ended with Arsenal completing an unbeaten title campaign.

Arteta’s team are also defending champions this time around after ending the club’s 22-year wait for a Premier League title last season.

Reuters reports Arsenal have taken the maximum 12 points from four matches, putting them top of the table ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby.

The manner of the latest victory may be as significant as the numbers.

Arsenal were pushed physically, survived a penalty and spent periods without their usual control.

They still won.

That ability to collect points when a performance is imperfect was one of the defining qualities of last season’s champions.

Now Arsenal are one victory away from establishing their longest Premier League winning sequence for more than two decades.