Arsenal vs. Sunderland Official Preview

Hello Towards the end of last season I did a series of preview articles looking ahead to fixtures, and I'm going to do the same again this season.

Arsenal vs. Sunderland

Competition: Barclays Premier League
Date: 18/08/2012
Kick-Off Time: 15.00
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London


Arsenal Preview

So, here we go into the unknown, life without RvP. I'm still baffled by his decision, given that our new signings had turned us into possible title contenders that with a bit of luck might even finish above United. Still, his ego prevented a climb-down and he was left with a move that probably wasn't his ideal choice when he made his ridiculous statement. But I won't dwell on him, or Song for that matter, because neither deserve to be dwelt on.

Sunderland will be a tricky game, O'Neill teams are always organised, determined and dangerous from set-pieces, and I'm sure Larsson's delivery will cause some problems. They can also play on the floor though, and the imminent signing of Louis Saha could give them more firepower. However despite RvP's departure I'm still very optimistic about next season, Podolski and Giroud can provide real firepower, and with the ammunition of Cazorla rather than Ramsey hopefully we can machine-gun a few teams down. Tomorrow will be our first chance to see at least one f our new boys in competitive action. However Cazorla does face a late fitness test after an absurd trip to Puerto Rico in midweek, Oxlade-Chamberlain is out and Giroud will most likely start from the bench meaning Podolski up-front and a definite start for Gervinho, who will hopefully improve greatly on a very mediocre first season. Koscielny is also out but will definitely be back for Liverpool and maybe for Stoke, and Mertesacker is an able deputy in any case.




Previous meeting:

Sunderland 2-0 Arsenal
Squillaci og 40
Oxlade-Chamberlain og 68

Last Games:

Cologne 0-4 Arsenal

Leicester 1-0 Sunderland

Form Smileygram

- win - draw - loss

No results yet

The Lukas Podolski form smileygram

- 0 goals - 1 goal - 2 goals - hat-trick

Last 6 games:

Overall: 2 goals in 1 game; German efficiency

Top Scorers last season

Arsenal:

1. Theo Walcott - 10
2=. Mikel Arteta, Thomas Vermaelen - 6
3. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 5

Sunderland :
1=. Seb Larsson, Nicklas Bendtner , Stephane Sessegnon - 8
2. James McClean - 6
3. Kieran Richardson - 3

Injuries and Suspensions

Arsenal Injured:
Koscielny (calf)
Sagna (leg)
Wilshere (ankle)
Rosicky (ankle)
Oxlade-Chamberlain (calf)
Cazorla and Walcott need fitness tests
Frimpong (knee)

Sunderland Injured:
Sessegnon (ankle, doubt)
Brown (knee)
Vaughan (hernia)
Bardsley (knee)


Likely Line-ups

Arsenal:

---------------------------Szczesny-----------------------

Jenkinson---Mertesacker---Vermaelen-----Gibbs

--------------------Arteta-------Diaby---------------

----Walcott--------Cazorla -----Gervinho

-----------------------Podolski ----------------------------


Sunderland:

----------------------Mignolet--------------------------

O'Shea----Bramble ----Cuellar-------Richardson

Larsson----Cattermole ----Gardner----McClean

-----------------------Sessegnon------------------------------------

-------------------------------------Saha------------------------------

Dangermen

Arsenal: If he plays, Santi Cazorla - the guy is fantastic and what we have been looking for for a few years now, he is versatile, completely two-footed, has excellent technique and awareness and knows where the goal is as well. If he can adapt to the increased physicality of the PL then we will have an absolute gem


Sunderland: Sessegnon - The Beninese forward is a very dangerous and capable player, with a burst of pace, creativity and an eye for goal. If he stays happy at Sunderland then their fans can look forward to another excellent season from this man.


STAT

Arsenal have never lost a PL home game on the first day of the season under Wenger - won 7 drawn 1

Prediction

Arsenal 2-0 Sunderland
Diaby 13'
Podolski 73'

Feel free to leave your own comments, predictions and feedback below