Arsenal vs Sunderland: Statistical Preview, Form Guide, Injury News + Head-To-Head

1 point from their last two Premier League matches sees Arsenal head into this weekend’s home tie with Sunderland 1 point behind league leaders Chelsea.

Sunderland have picked up 10 points from four matches before losing 2-0 at home to Hull City a fortnight ago. Gus Poyet’s side head into this weekend in the relegation zone with a League Cup final to look forward to the following weekend and an FA Cup quarter-final match also in March.

Arsenal are the bookmakers’ favourites in this one with the two sides at the opposite end of the table. The Gunners are coming off the back of a 2-0 home defeat in their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie at home to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Form

Arsenal DLWDW

Arsène Wenger’s side are on their joint-lowest 5-game form in the Premier League this season since two draws and a loss in December. Held 0-0 by Manchester United in their last Premier League game at the Emirates Stadium came after a 5-1 thrashing at Liverpool. Victories at home to Fulham and Crystal Palace have come in this sequence, being held at Southampton in between.

Yaya Sanogo has had two decent games up front against Liverpool in the FA Cup and Bayern Munich in the Champions League. He could be in line to make his first Premier League start this weekend should Wenger prefer him over Olivier Giroud again. Santi Cazorla and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have been in fine form on the wings recently, but Mesut Özil in the middle has been out-of-form for a few games now.

Arsenal have a number of midfielders missing – Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott, Abou Diaby and Kim Källström are all sidelined. Defenders Thomas Vermaelen and Kieran Gibbs are also injured in defence.

Sunderland LWWDW

The Black Cats are in better form over their past five games than second place Arsenal. Gus Poyet has guided his team to victories over Fulham, Stoke City and rivals Newcastle since mid-January to get his side within touching distance of safety.

Adam Johnson has been in fine form over recent weeks, ever since Theo Walcott picked up a season-ending injury in the FA Cup against Tottenham. Craig Gardner scored a cracking winner in their FA Cup match versus Southampton last weekend. Former Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone has played well in goal for Sunderland this season.

Wes Brown is suspended, defender Carlos Cuéllar remains a doubt but has not played since November.

Head-to-head

Arsenal were 3-1 winners at the Stadium of Light earlier this season against what was then Paolo Di Canio’s Sunderland. The Gunners dominated the game but early in the second half were pegged back through a Craig Gardner penalty after Olivier Giroud had given them the lead, set up by Mesut Özil on his debut. Aaron Ramsey scored twice in the final 23 minutes to give Arsenal the victory.

The Gunners were 1-0 winners at the Stadium of Light last season but the last time these two met at the Emirates the game finished 0-0 on the opening day of last season. Saturday will see Sunderland face Arsenal with their third different manager in their last three games versus Arsène Wenger.

Premier League stats

Absentees

Arsenal
Abou Diaby (injury)
Kieran Gibbs (injury)
Kim Källström (injury)
Aaron Ramsey (injury)
Thomas Vermaelen (injury)
Theo Walcott (injury)

Sunderland
Wes Brown (suspended)
Keiren Westwood (injury)

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