After booking a spot in the Carabao Cup final beating Chelsea in both legs of the semi finals, Arsenal will look to keep the momentum going.
The Gunners went winless for three straight Premier League games in January but bounced back with a dominant 4-0 win over Leeds United. Then, finished the job against their blue London rivals in the League Cup.
It’s now three wins in a row for Mikel Arteta’s men, who also guaranteed a perfect record in the Champions League in the process.
But they will be wary of an upset against a plucky Sunderland side who have silenced all the doubters this season. The newly-promoted outfit are sitting in eighth, just five points off top-four.
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Arsenal predicted lineup vs Sunderland
Arsenal predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Zubimendi; Madueke, Havertz, Trossard; Jesus.
Arsenal team news vs Sunderland
Arsenal’s injury issues seem to have cripped back up again, with Mikel Merino facing a long-term foot issue. Star man Bukayo Saka is also dealing with a hip problem.
Good news is that Martin Odegaard may be back in contention. He picked up a slight knock vs Leeds that kept him out of the Chelsea game.
Still, Kai Havertz has come back from his own injury like he never left. The German played just 21 minutes in the semi final second leg and even scored the stoppage-time winner. There is a real chance he starts and Arteta shifts his usual 4-3-3 into a 4-2-3-1 to acommodate him.
Most of the same backline should continue, including Jurrien Timber at right back and a centre-back pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes. But Riccardo Calafiori is expected come in for Piero Hincapie at left-back.
Gabriel Jesus and Viktor Gyokeres have both benefitted from a healthy competition since the Brazilian returned from the sidelines. The Swede got the nod in each of the Gunners’ last three games and it could be Jesus’ turn here.
Arsenal’s chokehold over Black Cats
It’s fair to say Arsenal usually enjoy their clashes against Sunderland. They haven’t suffered a defeat against them in the last 16 Premier League games.
That is a run of 10 wins and six draws that stretches back to November 2009. Sunderland won 1-0 at home thanks to a Darren Bent winner then.
And chances are it may continue. Former Arsenal player and current Black Cats captain Granit Xhaka remains out for a few more weeks. He had played every single one of their 22 league matches this season before suffering an ankle injury.
Regis Le Bris struggled mightily to replace him as Sunderland went 0-3 down at relegation-threatened West Ham before half-time. Things did get better last matchday, though, as they beat Burnley 3-0 with ease.
Enzo Le Fee, Noah Sadiki and Habib Diarra partnered up well in the middle of the park. But they brought the game to the Clarets in the first half and just managed the result in the final 45 minutes.
Against Arsenal, the dynamic will be the exact opposite. And without Xhaka’s presence and grit, the tendency is that Arsenal overwhelm the Black Cats. They will need to overcome a lot of adversity in order to get out of London with points.