ARSENAL PREVIEW

Sunderland host top of the league Arsenal in the final game before the international break. It’s turned out to be first versus fourth, which would have been a pretty unbelievable concept to most just a few months ago. Here’s everything you need to know about our opponents:

FORM

The Gunners are in remarkable form. Unbeaten in the last 13 in all competitions, 12 of those matches have been victories and 10 have seen them keep a clean sheet. They haven’t shipped a goal since the end of September. They’ve taken maximum points from their last five Premier League matches (against Newcastle United, West Ham United, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Burnley). The most recent of those was Burnley, in which they won 2-0 away from home, Viktor Gyokeres and Declan Rice grabbed the goals. Slavia Prague in the Champions League was their latest match, they won 3-0 in Czechia due to a Mikel Merino brace and a Bukayo Saka penalty. Currently, they sit top of the PL, six points better off than their nearest rivals in Manchester City.

THE MANAGER

43-year-old Mikel Arteta is their head coach and has been in the position since December 2019, taking charge of 306 games so far. Of those 306, he’s won 183, drawn 56 and lost 67. During his time in North London as the boss, Arteta has won an FA Cup and two Community Shields. This is his first managerial gig and before this he was a midfielder, turning out for Barcelona B, Paris Saint-Germain, Rangers, Real Sociedad, Everton and, his current team, Arsenal. He won an Intertoto Cup with PSG, a league title and Scottish League Cup with Rangers and two FA Cups and two Community Shields with Arsenal. He’s won the Premier League Manager of the Month award seven times, most recently in February 2024.

KEY PLAYERS

Spain international David Raya is their number one goalkeeper, he’s kept seven clean sheets from the opening 10 league matches which is the most in the division. Additionally, he’s been flawless in the Champions League, keeping four clean sheets after four matches played. Viktor Gyokeres leads them for goals scored, with six from 14 appearances after joining in the summer. The Swede is set to miss this one through injury though, Bukayo Saka is next down the list with five from 13. Their top playmaker has been Declan Rice, the midfielder having contributed five assists from his 16 games. New additions in the last transfer window included, attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze, defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi and centre back Cristhian Mosquera.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Last time out against Arsenal, we were soundly defeated 5-1 in the League Cup away from home back in December 2021, Nathan Broadhead scored our only goal. The last time we faced off in the Premier League, we lost 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium in May 2017 and the last time we played each other in the league with us as the hosts was in October 2016. We lost 4-1, with Jermain Defoe getting our goal. Our latest victory against the Gunners came in February 2012 in the FA Cup, we scored twice (via Kieran Richardson and an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain own goal) without reply. November 2009 was the most recent time we've defeated them in the league, that was a 1-0 win thanks to Darren Bent. In our last five meetings, we’ve drawn one and lost the other four. Overall, we’ve played the visitors 154 times, winning 50, drawing 41 and losing 63.

PREDICTION

I think even the most optimistic of Sunderland fans is going to struggle to predict us to win this one. A draw would be a fantastic result. They don’t concede and take their chances with remarkable efficiency so I’m going to say they win 2-0. As long as we don’t lose by more than a two goal margin, I think we can walk out of the stadium pretty happy with the team’s efforts.