EPL Match Preview - Sunderland vs Arsenal

Olivier Giroud would get a boost by the addition of Mesut Ozil in the squad

Kick-off time: 7:30 pm (IST), Saturday, 14th August

Venue: Stadium of Light, Sunderland

Even as Arsenal travel to Sunderland, hoping to continue from where they left off before the international break, all eyes will be on the new name in the Arsenal ranks.

The Gunners’ record signing, Mesut Özil, having joined Arenal on deadline day for 42.5 million pounds, is all set to make his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt. A derby win over Spurs coupled with the signing of the German international is sure to have boosted the morale in the Arsenal dressing room.

The same cannot be said of Paolo Di Canio’s Sunderland though. The team is yet to register their first win in the Premier League this season with two losses and a draw being the results so far.

Paolo Di Canio faces the challenge to take Sunderland out of the relegation zone. The Black Cats went into the international break having suffered an unlikely defeat at the hands of newly promoted Crystal Palace.

Even a fortnight later, the disappointment is sure to be in the minds of the crowd at the Stadium of Light. Paolo Di Canio would look to pull off an upset just as Crystal Palace did against his side the last time.

Recent League Form:

Sunderland: LDL

Last Result: 3-1 loss at Crystal Palace

Scoring just two in the three league games so far, for a team with the likes Steven Fletcher and Sebastian Larsson, it has been a hard time for Sunderland in the final third.

Now as Paolo Di Canio faces a tougher opponent in Arsenal, the new loanee Fabio Borini and the returning Jozy Altidore will play an important role as the Black Cats look to unlock the Arsenal defence.

With Mertesacker unlikely to start due to illness and Vermaelen still not fit enough to start; Di Canio would look to exploit the unstability in the Arsenal make-shift back four.

Arsenal: LWW

Last Result: 1-0 win against Spurs

The last time Arsenal walked out of the tunnel, the squad looked paper-thin, the team-sheet foreboding of humiliation at the hands of their fiercest rivals.

Arsene’s transfer policy was under fire. But a win against the high spending Spurs and the addition of the star German midfielder has turned Le Professeur into a fan favourite once again.

Arsene Wenger has a few decisions to make himself. The absence of Mertesacker would mean that Sagna moves into the centre-half position, and Carl Jenkinson comes in at right-back – a flashpoint that Spurs tried to exploit time and again.

The story in the midfield is quite the opposite. Wilshere, Ramsey, Rosicky, Flamini, Cazorla and Özil give Wenger a headache – albeit a welcome one.

It will be interesting to see if Wenger chooses to start his new German midfielder or get him off the bench. And if he does debut today, how the German star – the leading assist-maker in Europe’s top five leagues in the last three years – adjusts to the hard, physical gameplay of the Premier League.

But with Özil’s addition, the Arsenal mid-field make for a mouth-watering treat – for Giroud, if nobody else.

Injuries and suspensions:

Sunderland: Lee Cattermole, Connor Wickham

Arsenal: Lukas Podolski, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Per Mertesackr (illness)

Head-to-Head:

The last time these two sides met was at the Stadium of Light in February, Arsenal won by one goal, hanging on to an early Cazorla goal as Jenkinson got himself sent off in the second half.

Sunderland have won just once in their last 19 games against Arsenal.

Predicted result:

The make-shift back line of Arsenal against the misfiring Sunderland attack should make for an interesting contest. Sunderland do up their game against tougher opponents, and as Paolo Di Canio observed, Arsenal’s attacking game can give Sunderland occasional chances to counter-attack.

If the game pans out as on paper, the Gunners should win by a two goal margin. I’d predict a 3-1 result in favour of Arsenal.