Mikel Arteta has made three changes for this evening’s Premier League clash against Sunderland, with Ebere Eze and Martin Zubimendi returning to our midfield.
The Spaniard was suspended for our midweek 3-0 success against Slavia Prague, so returns to the side for our game on Wearside, while Ebere is given the nod to make his sixth straight start in the Premier League.
Alongside Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori is the only other Gunner to have been selected from the off in every top-flight game this term and he keeps that run going after being preferred to Piero Hincapie at left-back. He is named on the bench alongside Christian Norgaard and Ethan Nwaneri, who started in midweek.
Mikel Merino netted twice in Prague and he’ll start up front again with Viktor Gyokeres still out, but Kepa Arrizabalaga is back on the bench after missing the trip to the Czech Republic, as we look to head into the international break with 11 wins in a row across all competitions, and claim a ninth successive clean sheet for the first time in our 138-year history.
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Club clean sheet record equalled, but what’s next?
Regis Le Bris meanwhile has named an unchanged line-up from the one that drew 1-1 at home to Everton on Monday night, which is also the same XI that beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago.
That means that Granit Xhaka will skipper the Black Cats on his first appearances against us since departing in the summer of 2023.
LINE-UP
Sunderland: Roefs, Hume, Mukiele, Ballard, Geertruida, Mandava, Xhaka, Sadiki, Traore, Le Fee, Isidor.
Subs: Patterson, Masuaku, O’Nien, Neil, Rigg, Adingra, Talbi, Brobbey, Mayenda.
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Eze, Saka, Trossard, Merino.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, White, Lewis-Skelly, Hincapie, Mosquera, Norgaard, Nwaneri, Dowman, Harriman-Annous.
Ahead of kick-off, prepare yourself for the game by finding out need-to-know stats, learning about Sunderland’s tactics and season so far, finding out which TV channel is showing the game and much more in our match preview.
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Preview: Sunderland v Arsenal
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