Arsenal will be hoping to continue their push for a first Premier League title as Sunderland travel down south to play their final game before the Capital One Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley. With both sides in great form recently, this game could prove to be a tighter affair than we have previously seen.

Gus Poyet's men will be going to the Emirates knowing that a win would steer them away from the relegation zone, other results pending. However, games against Arsenal have not gone down well for Sunderland in recent times, having failed to overcome the Gunners in their last eight attempts, a win at the Stadium of Light in 2009 being the last time the Black Cats were victorious. Their recent form under Poyet has seen them reach the final of the League Cup for the first time in 29 years, as well as moving off the bottom of the league.

Arsenal, on the other hand, will look to recover from a Champions League setback which saw them go down 2-0 to German giants Bayern Munich on Wednesday night. Despite a spirited fight from the Gunners, a magical night at the Emirates did not coalesce. Per Mertesacker has urged the Arsenal players to put the suicide mission of the Bayern game behind them and focus on a crucial game in the race for the title, and with Wenger's side sitting pretty in second place in the league, they will be hoping to take advantage of a Sunderland side that have suffered just two defeats in their last ten Premier League matches. Arsenal will also be looking for their first league win in three after a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Liverpool and a drab 0-0 draw against underperforming Manchester United. 

Arsenal are without long term absentees Thomas Vermaelen, Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott due to injury, whilst Kieran Gibbs is also expected to miss out after suffering a hamstring injury in midweek. Vermaelen is expected back before the Stoke game on March 1st, whilst Ramsey and Gibbs are both expected to miss the next four weeks, including the North London derby against Tottenham. Spanish defender Nacho Monreal is expected to deputise at left-back in Gibbs' absence. Apart from that, a similar starting XI to the one seen against Bayern is expected, with Sanogo expected to start his third game in seven days.

With a huge cup final coming up in just over a week, Gus Poyet faces a dilemma as to whether or not he rests players before their Wembley outing. Poyet has an almost fully fit side available to him for Saturday, with Carlos Cuellar expected to return at centre-back to fill in for Wes Brown, who carries out the last game of his three match ban. With Steven Fletcher also able to make a comeback, it is down to the Uruguayan to decide whether to start him up front with Fabio Borini, another player who has been providing Sunderland with a few goals in this newfound form of theirs.

Stats would show this upcoming game to be a fairly close affair, combining both recent form from both sides, as well as previous affairs, with three of the last eight games separating the sides by just one goal. Performances of a high standard from the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere in the Arsenal midfield will be vital if they are to make a good start and break down the Sunderland defence  A big show from Vito Mannone and the Sunderland back four will be key to any success they plan on having in a game which is key for both sides for completely conflicting reasons. Saturday is a chance for Sunderland to prove that they won't go down without a fight, and what better stage to do it on then at the Emirates Stadium. 

VAVEL Logo
About the author