Sunderland v Arsenal
Stadium of Light
Premier League
29 November
12.30pm
Arsenal
Goalkeepers: Petr Cech was hailed as the missing piece in Arsenal’s puzzle when he arrived at the Emirates in 2015, and the 34-year-old is yet to disappoint. The stopper has kept four clean sheets during the current campaign – no ‘keeper has more – and has more clean sheets than any other player in Premier League history with 182. Emilano Martinez started in the Gunners’ midweek EFL Cup win over Reading, with David Ospina also available in reserve should Cech need replacing.
Defence: Arsenal’s defence will centre around the blossoming partnership formed by Laurent Koscielny and summer signing Shkodran Mustafi. The World Cup winning German has made a bright start to life at the Emirates after moving to North London from Valencia for a bumper fee, with the Gunners’ back four settled during the early stages of the season as Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin continue to cement their spots on the flanks. Like Monreal, Bellerin will also have a job to do moving forward and the Spaniard has both goals and assists in his locker. Kieren Gibbs and Gabriel are expected to be in the squad but Per Mertesacker will miss the game due to a knee injury.
Midfield: Arsenal’s primary source of creativity has come from a youngster this season with Alex Iwobi notching a club-high four assists in the Premier League. Santi Cazorla has three but could miss the game, with Germany international Mesut Ozil in red-hot form after netting his first career hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League last week. Francis Coquelin is likely to start with summer signing Granit Xhaka serving the final game of a three-match ban. Mohamed Elneny has been a regular starter.
Attack: Theo Walcott has been exceptional during the early stages and he will once again lead the line when the Gunners travel to the Stadium of Light. The England international has netted five league goals and registered two assists in the top flight with an overall tally of eight goals in 14 games. Alexis Sanchez has also impressed scoring four goals while posting three assists in the Premier League, and summer signing Lucas Perez is also off the mark netting three goals in seven appearances. Olivier Giroud, who starred for France in Euro 2016, came off the bench against Reading with his playing time limited so far this season. Former Black Cat Danny Welbeck will miss the game due to injury, with the forward expected to be out until late January.
Manager: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger needs no introduction with the Frenchman currently the longest-serving manager in the Premier League. The Gunners boss celebrated his 20th anniversary at the club in September in what has already been a season of milestones, with last week’s 6-0 demolition of Ludogorets marking his 100th win in European competition with the Gunners. The victory saw the North Londoners move top of their group and they also top the Premier League on points, albeit sitting second due to Manchester City’s superior goal difference. With a strong squad that rivals the very best in world football, Wenger will be hoping to see his side challenge on all fronts in the coming months.
Team news
Sunderland
John O’Shea, Steven Pienaar and Jermain Defoe are likely to be recalled to the starting XI.
Vito Mannone, Jason Denayer, Lee Cattermole, Jan Kirchhoff, Seb Larsson, Adnan Januzaj and Fabio Borini are expected to miss out once again, but a concrete update will be available following the manager's press conference on Friday.
Arsenal
Per Mertesacker, Santi Cazorla and Danny Welbeck are unavailable due to injury.
Last time out
Southampton 1-0 Sunderland
Sofiane Boufal’s wonder goal sent Sunderland out of the EFL Cup as Southampton secured a place in the quarter finals.
With little to separate the sides during the opening 60 minutes, the Frenchman plucked the ball out of the air before curling a sumptuous strike past the helpless Jordan Pickford.
Jermain Defoe entered the fray with 20 minutes remaining as David Moyes’ side rallied and Victor Anichebe was denied a penalty, but the referee waved play on as Moyes was sent to the stands.
Sunderland continued to pile forward but were unable to find a response as their cup campaign came to an end.
Arsenal 2-0 Reading (BBC Sport)
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored twice as Arsenal extended their unbeaten run with a hard-fought EFL Cup win against Championship side Reading.
The England midfielder opened the scoring when he skipped into the box and drilled into the bottom corner.
Reading almost equalised when Callum Harriott's deflected shot landed on top of Emiliano Martinez's goal.
Arsenal dominated after half-time, with Oxlade-Chamberlain's deflected shot completing a 14th game without defeat.
Form (All competitions)
Sunderland: LLDLL
Arsenal: WWLDD
