Arsenal – Sunderland Preview

Key Stats
League Position: 16th, 1 W, 3D, 3L, 9 GF, 8 GA, +1 GD, 6 pts
Away Form: 2 D, 1 L, 2 GF, 3 GA
Last Meeting Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland (March 5, 2011) (Premier League)

Well, we’re back to our regular programming. After a long, dull two week Interlull in which nothing of note pertaining to Arsenal happened (unless you count the massive, international controversy that is verifying Carl Jenkinson’s account on Twitter as news), Arsenal return to the playing field tomorrow, to take on a stubborn Sunderland side at the Emirates.

On the back of our last game, that soul-sapping loss to Spurs at WHL, this is a match we really really need to win. After the latest round of games today, we are back to being only two spots above the relegation zone, with Sunderland directly below us. West Brom, who occupy the 18th spot on the table, are also yet to play and face Wolves tomorrow. So there’s a big chance that if we lose tomorrow, we could find ourselves in the relegation zone- and to the best of my knowledge, that has NEVER happened in the Wenger era, nor the EPL era, nor many of the years preceding it. Even when we lost 8-2 to Man United, we were still above those 3 spots, because, face it, we are not a relegation-fighting team. We are The Arsenal! We need to prove that tomorrow to get our season going again, hopefully build up some confidence and momentum, and (temporarily) fight off those media hacks.

Now, Sunderland have had a pretty bad season, 4-0 drubbing of Foul-Smelling Orcs Stoke notwithstanding. Under strange circumstances (money), they lost their best striker, Asamoah Gyan, to the deep bowels that is the Middle Eastern football scene. The impressive Danny Welbeck has returned to Man United, and veterans such as Steed Malbranque and Bwodjdiwoewkr92x Zenden have left. Their most significant signing this season has been the loan of Nicklas Bendtner, and he has been relatively impressive for them so far, but here’s the catch- he can’t play against us! Ha! (Editor’s Note: JG is relying solely on his hubris to back up the previous sentence. He really is unaware on whether Bendtner can play tomorrow or not. When the big Dane inevitably shows up and scores a hat-trick tomorrow, please spare JG of any vitriol. Thanks.)

Still, we shouldn’t take Sunderland lightly- they are a tough team who we have always found hard to break down, no matter the circumstances. We had that drab home draw last season with them that was at the start of our spring collapse; the 1-1 draw earlier last season, in which Rosicky missed a penalty and we conceded deep into injury time; the 1-0 loss in 09-10, right after van Persie got injured, and so on and so forth. Beating Sunderland will require a concentrated, focused effort, one that we really haven’t gotten so much from this team lately. But we must always face forward.

sigh...

For the first time in what seems like 47 years, we actually have positive team news! Koscielny, Djourou, and Squillaci are back from their injuries. Diaby and Vermaelen will be back in 10 days and two weeks, respectively. Rosicky, Fabianski, and SZCZ, who had picked up slight injuries over the international break, are back and healthy. Everyone else is fine, too. So basically, we’re at a point where our only injuries are Diaby, Vermaelen, Wilshere, and Sagna- all guys who had to go under the knife and we/are out for a significant amount of time. And two will be returning soon. Yay!

Based on the team available, this is how I think Arsenal will lineup tomorrow:

Szczesny

Jenkinson      Mertesacker   Koscielny    Gibbs

Song   Coquelin

Walcott    Arteta    Arshavin

van Persie

Subs: Fabianski, Santos, Djourou, Ramsey, Gervinho, Benayoun, Park

Szczesny in goal, as always. (Sorry, Flaps.) With Koscielny and Djourou back, we don’t have to worry about shifting Song to CB- either the Swiss or the Frenchman will partner Mertesacker at the back. The big question, however, is who will play at RB. Many have argued against playing young Carl Jenkinson in the spot while Sagna is out, citing his inexperience and how he looks out of his depth. While I agree that Jenkinson has struggled, I put that mostly to his inexperience- his performances, in my opinion, have actually been semi-decent considering he’s an 18 year old kid whose only prior experience was 8 caps for a League Two side. And when he was bought in the summer, Wenger said he was going to play in the first team and be Sagna’s backup, so why bench him now, and risk playing guys like Kos and Coq out of positions where they are needed more? His situation is similar to that of the teenager who’s nervous of driving- the only way his, and his family’s, situation will improve is if he gets behind the wheel more often.

Hopefully we get to see Jenks at RB tomorrow. That way, Kos can start next to ‘Sack and we won’t have to worry about any Swiss calamities. At LB, Gibbs has been preferred in the EPL, so he gets the start. In midfield, Ramsey and Gervinho were…. pretty awful against Spurs, so I think they’ll be benched for this one, the Ivorian replaced by Arshavin, and Ramsey by Coquelin. Should he start, Coquelin’s presence will be interesting to see in regards to our other midfielders- he is a true DM, and Song has easily been our most adventurous mid so far this season. With the calming presence of Coquelin behind him, will Song feel more at ease to naturally go up? Hopefully it will improve our stagnant midfield. The rest of our midfield and attack fills itself up.

Thanks to players returning from injury, we actually get to choose who gets to be on the bench! Flaps, Santos, and Djourou form the defensive alternates; Ramsey and Gervinho are there as well, but the last two spots are pretty much a crapshoot- two of Park, Benayoun, AOC, Rosicky, and Chamakh could get to be on the bench. Benayoun offers workrate and experience, and I want to see Park play more, so I chose those two.

This is a really strong team, and one that, on paper, should at least make an effort of disposing Sunderland. van Persie has spoken about his motivation and fitness lately, so hopefully we’ll get to see some of that put into good use tomorrow. Hopefully the likes of Arteta and Arshavin step up and start playing with more end product. Our defense will be/is a little rickety, especially our RB spot, but the presence of ‘Sack and the return of Mssrs. Koscielny and Djourou will be an added boost. And best of all, that banner has been banned. So now we have a totally unified and energetic home crowd to rely on!/snark

3 points that we really need. Can the team step up to the challenge? Can’t wait to see if they can.
Come on Arsenal!

Some Related Stories:

Category: Fixtures, Players, Premiership, Preview, Sunderland