'Maybe We Became Arrogant': Nordi Mukiele Lays Bare Sunderland Crisis After Bournemouth Defeat
'Not good enough' – Mukiele's brutal verdict on Sunderland's slump
Nordi Mukiele offered a brutally honest assessment of Sunderland's faltering season after the Black Cats were beaten 2-0 by Bournemouth on Sunday – their fourth Premier League defeat in a row, a run that leaves them second bottom of the table.
"I think this game is just what we are looking [like] from the beginning of the season," the Sunderland defender told Sky Sports. "We are not good enough.
"Why? I don't know. Maybe because we became arrogant, this is what I think."
Only those inside the club can truly answer Mukiele's "arrogant" claim following such a sharp drop-off in both results and performance. Sunderland surprised everyone last season by qualifying for the Europa League at the first time of asking after eight years away from the top flight, finishing seventh. Now the question is whether they have been found out by their rivals, whether they are suffering the so-called second season syndrome, or whether the added demands of European football are simply too much for the current squad.
Le Bris: 'We were not Sunderland'
Head coach Regis le Bris was not quite as damning as his defender but was still deeply disappointed by what he saw at Vitality Stadium.
"We were below the level, it's really clear. It's hard to take, hard to digest," Le Bris told Sky Sports. "It's very painful because we were not Sunderland and it's not acceptable."
On the congested schedule, he added: "We won't find excuses. We have a busy schedule. We want to embrace the challenge, but the position at the minute is not good."
Europe is a bright spot – but the league table is not
The contrast between Sunderland's domestic and continental form is stark. After seven games last season, the Black Cats had 11 points and sat ninth, having won three, drawn two and lost two. At the same stage this term they have just four points from one win, one draw and five defeats.
In Europe, however, Le Bris's side boast a 100% record, with wins over Dutch side AZ Alkmaar and second-tier Portuguese outfit Torreense. Yet they have now lost both games played immediately after a Europa League outing – though one of those was an eight-goal thriller against unbeaten league leaders Manchester City.
Given: 'They overachieved last season'
Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Shay Given – who had a loan spell at Sunderland in 1996 while a Blackburn Rovers player – believes the squad may simply not be equipped to cope with the extra fixtures that followed last season's seventh-placed finish. He does, however, see a route out of relegation danger.
"They overachieved last season, getting into European competition," said Given. "I don't know if the squad is ready for a challenge on all fronts. You need a bigger squad, a deeper squad, and it's going to be a big ask. I'm just looking at the table and they're second bottom at the minute.
"I know it's only seven games played, but there are so many games coming up and in a short period of time. It's about the bread and butter in the Premier League – that's the most important thing. You like to think with Le Bris, they'll have enough to be safe."
Sunderland spent £161m on 15 new players after gaining promotion to the Premier League in the summer of 2025. In the transfer window this summer they invested about £60m on five new recruits, but their success probably owed more to keeping hold of key men such as captain Granit Xhaka and striker Brian Brobbey, who is currently out with a hamstring injury. Xhaka has called for calm following the fifth Premier League defeat of the campaign.
Defensive mistakes proving costly
Whether or not the squad is deep enough, a trip to face a Bournemouth side who were without a league win before Sunday – and who had also played in Europe on Thursday – should have been one Sunderland relished. Instead, they could hardly have made it easier for the hosts.
Recent summer recruit Kevin Danso, a loan signing from Tottenham Hotspur, was bullied by Evanilson in the build-up to Marcus Tavernier's opener in just the sixth minute. Centre-back Danso was then sent off in the 17th minute for dragging down the Brazilian striker when he was clear through on goal. In the second half, Omar Alderete's weak backpass to goalkeeper Robin Roefs gifted Evanilson the chance to secure the three points for the Cherries.
According to Opta, no side has committed more errors leading to goals in the Premier League this season than Sunderland, with five. Alderete also became just the third player to commit multiple errors leading to goals this season, alongside team-mate Danso and Hull's Konstantinos Tzolakis.
Sunderland have now conceded 14 goals – only Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town have shipped more – which is more than double their goals-against tally after seven games last season. They have scored only six, and their three attempted shots in Sunday's game, all off target, represented the lowest total for any team in a Premier League match this season.
It should be noted that they have faced Manchester City, champions Arsenal and an in-form Brighton side, so it has not been an easy start.
'This is not Sunderland'
Mukiele insists the only response is hard work – and that the club can still climb back to where it was.
"It's just the beginning. Football is like this," he said. "You can accept and just stand up and go back to work. If I believe we can go back to the top again, yeah, I believe about this.
"It depends about what we really want and this starts in training because we don't do enough and after you can see it on the pitch.
"You cannot lie about football and today I don't want to say we didn't want to win this game, but it didn't look like we want something. We just have to work hard to be back where we were like last season because right now this is not us – this is not Sunderland."