Arsenal Seek To Defeat Sunderland as Cesc Fabregas Warns Against Complacency

Arsenal will look to continue their good form against Sunderland in a tricky away fixture at the Stadium of Light. The Gunners have been ruthless in the demolitions of Bolton and, more recently, Sporting Braga in their Champions League opener. They have been unbeaten, so far, and will look to continue their run.

Sunderland, on the other hand, have had an inconsistent start to the season with two draws sandwiching a loss against West Bromwich and a win against Manchester City. They have shown that they are strong-willed and will not buckle down under pressure from more talented teams like they showed against City.

Arsenal thrashed Braga 6-0 in the midweek fixture, but will surely not find things easy against Sunderland. Last year, they lost to Sunderland 1-0 after losing Robin van Persie due to injury in an international friendly in the midweek. Van Persie will not be available this time around as well, but the Gunners have an able striker in Marouane Chamakh, who has impressed in the role of a lone striker.

The Black Cats' new signing Asamoah Gyan, who was impressive in the World Cup, will probably be paired up front with the dangerous Darren Bent for this tough encounter. This would mean that new Central defensive pairing of Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci, in the absence of the impressive Thomas Vermaelen due to injury, would have their work cut out against these two very good strikers.

Gael Clichy returned for the Champions League encounter after being rested against Bolton, where Kieran Gibbs started in place of him and will be expected to start against Sunderland. Similarly, Bacary Sagna will most probably start, which would mean Emmanuel Eboue might warm the bench. Manuel Almunia should keep his place in goal and hope to continue his solid start to the season.

In the midfield, Alex Song and Cesc Fabregas are sure starters for Arsenal, which leaves out only one slot for the rest. In the absence of Abou Diaby, Jack Wilshere excelled for the Gunners in the game against Braga, with the back heel assist to Chamakh his best involvement of the game. He will hope to retain his spot in the 11, though Arsene Wenger might decide to go for the experience of Denilson in this tough fixture.

Cesc Fabregas, meanwhile, has warned the Gunners against complacency against Sunderland. He said, "We made a mistake at the back towards the end of the first half (of the Bolton game) and were punished—we cannot afford to do that at this level, and it shows there are still things to improve on. In our defending as a team, we will need to get a little better to be at the top."

He certainly has his heart set on winning a title for Arsenal and expects his comrades not to relax and make errors against Sunderland.

Clichy and Sagna have both gone on record to say that their captain is back to his best form and can win a trophy for them this year.

Clichy said, "It's not easy to for him [Fabregas] to forget what happened and I think he has shown everyone that once he is fit and is ready to play then he is one of the best so we're glad to have him and I hope he stays here for many years."

There are positive vibes emanating from the Arsenal camp and it seems like the young Gunners have belief and confidence in their ability.

Andrei Arshavin is expected to keep his place in the starting 11 after a pretty decent performance against Braga where he scored a goal and bagged two assists. Samir Nasri made his return from injury on Wednesday and played the whole of the match to prove his match fitness.

However, Tomas Rosicky has been impressive in this season, so far, thus providing Wenger with a selection dilemma. He might also opt to play Eboue as a winger because of his strength and pace, which might prove to be useful.

Chamakh will start for the Gunners as the lone striker and he has shown he has the ability to adjust to the Premiership and the Arsenal way of playing. Carlos Vela, who has had two wonderful substitute appearances, may once again be on the bench at the start of the match.

Arsenal will look to continue their impressive form against Sunderland, who have caused problems for the Gunners in the past. A victory here would ensure that they hold on to the second spot and keep pace with the leaders Chelsea. If they do win against the Black Cats, they will be regarded as strong title contenders based on their superb start to the season.

Predictions

Starting XI:

Manuel Almunia; Gael Clichy, Laurent Koscielny, Sebastien Squillaci, Bacary Sagna; Alex Song, Jack Wilshere; Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas, Andrei Arshavin; Marouane Chamakh

Substitutes:

Carlos Vela, Denilson, Kieran Gibbs, Emmanuel Eboue, Tomas Rosicky, Johan Djourou, Lukasz Fabianski

Final Score: Sunderland 1 Arsenal 3