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Sunderland vs. Arsenal

21st November, 2009

Stadium of Light

Kick-Off: 15:00 GMT

Arsenal

The International break has not been kind to Arsenal players as they head north for the Sunderland vs. Arsenal clash at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

Robin van Persie will be out for approximately six weeks after rupturing an ankle ligament for Holland in their football friendly against Italy on Saturday. The Dutch striker has been in tantalising form lately, and will be missed dearly by Arsenal.

Andrei Arshavin will have had a week to forget, as well, as Russia failed to qualify for the World Cup finals after losing to Slovenia on Wednesday.

Russia was heavily favoured to go through after a strong 2-1 victory over the Slovenians last Saturday, but after a 1-0 loss, Russia was sent packing.

Arshavin’s performance, it must be said, was not of its typically high standard. It will be interesting to see how he responds for Arsenal after a hard week. It could be motivating, or it could be devastating.

Individual woes aside, Arsenal has been flying high in the Premier League lately. The Gunners currently sit second in the league on 25 points, five points behind leaders Chelsea, and equal on points with Man Utd.

Arsenal, however, has a match in hand over both sides and will be looking to put this to their full advantage in this Arsenal vs. Sunderland clash.

Sunderland

Sunderland has been a much improved side this season under Steve Bruce. The club currently sits eighth in the Premier League, and have looked sharp for the majority of the season.

Sadly for Sunderland supporters, that majority has not accounted for the previous month. Sunderland has lost two of their last three games, and performed well under the standards set in the opening two months of the campaign.

The club’s explosive striking partnership of Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones has hit a bit of a speed bump in recent weeks after terrorising opposing defences at the start of the Premier League season.

Unfortunately, the two have not seen much playing time together over the past month as suspensions and niggles have kept them apart. This will be the case again in Saturday's Sunderland vss. Arsenal match, as Jones is still serving a suspension for being sent off against West Ham, and will likely be replaced by Fraizer Campbell.

A large concern for Bruce will be his keeper situation. Craig Gordon suffered a fractured arm in Sunderland’s 2-0 defeat at Tottenham, which means Marton Fulop will likely be called upon again for Sunderland to keep Arsenal’s potent offence at bay.

Prediction

Both games between the clubs finished as draws last season, with the Arsenal vs. Sunderland tie at the Emirates finishing 0-0, whilst the reverse Sunderland vs. Arsenal fixture at the Stadium of Light ended in a goalless result.

Another draw could well be the result on Saturday, with both teams potentially not as sharp as usual, owing to the international break.

The loss of Robin van Persie is massive for Arsenal, and the Gunners will have to look upon some of their other stars to fill in where van Persie's seven goal haul this season has so far contributed to the side's tally.

The absense of Kenwye Jones for Sunderland could be equally crucial, with the Trinidadian striker contributing five goals so far this season as the second-leading scorer for Sunderland.

Arsenal should have the depth and quality required to pull off a victory on Saturday, but the match could very well be a close encounter.

Sunderland vs. Arsenal Prediction: Sunderland 0 - Arsenal 1

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