Sunderland vs Arsenal Preview, Team News, Likely Line-Ups, Key Man & Prediction

Arsenal get back to Premier League action when they take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon.

Just two wins from our opening eight games has made it a difficult start to the new campaign and failure to come away with three points this weekend will make it the worst start to a season under Arsene Wenger.

Any slim title hopes would also be evaporated if we don’t pick up a victory on Saturday, so it’s safe to say this is a ‘must win’ game for the club, even at this early stage of the season.

We warmed up for the match with a sluggish performance in the Champions League on Wednesday night, where we needed two last minute goals from Kieran Gibbs and Lukas Podolski to rescue a lucky 2-1 win at Anderlecht.

That result came after another tepid display saw us also require a last gasp goal from Danny Welbeck to secure a 2-2 draw at home to Hull City last Saturday, so we’re going to have to step things up this weekend.

Some may say it’s a good time to face Sunderland following their 8-0 mauling by Southampton last weekend, but on the flip side you could easily see their players working harder than ever tomorrow to make up for that humiliation. We’ll just have to wait and see how they respond.

Team news

Jack Wilshere is missing through suspension after picking up his fifth booking of the season last weekend. Mikel Arteta is expected to return to the side which should see Mathieu Flamini drop out.

Wojciech Szczesny returns from a European ban so Emiliano Martinez should return to the bench as David Ospina remains on the sidelines.

Laurent Koscielny has been ruled out for another month with a niggling Achilles injury so Nacho Monreal should continue to partner Per Mertesacker at the back.

Theo Walcott has an outside chance of being in the squad but Arsene has hinted he may hold him back for another week, so he could joins Olivier Giroud, Yaya Sanogo, Mathieu Debuchy, Mesut Ozil and Abou Diaby in missing the game.

Sunderland could include new signing Anthony Reveillere in the squad after snapping up the full-back on a free transfer.

However, Sebastian Coates, Billy Jones, Emanuele Giaccherini and Ricky Alvarez are also still out.

Likely Line-Ups

Key Man

Alexis Sanchez: The Chilean has been a rare shining light during some disappointing displays in recent weeks, so we’ll once again be looking to the former Barcelona attacker for some inspiration tomorrow.

Predicted Score

Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal: We have an excellent record against the North-East outfit, losing just one of our previous 21 games, and hopefully their confidence will be low after last weeks result and Arsenal can come away with a vital three points.

What team would you like to see start and whats your predicted score?