The reverse of this fixture back in November saw Sunderland’s last victory in the Premier League, which Arsenal will want to avenge, particularly given their disappointing performance against Porto in the Champions League in midweek.
Arsenal will be kicking themselves after what has been a poor run over the last few weeks by their high standards. Losing to Porto in the Champions League thanks to two glaring goalkeeping errors will have caused cancerns for Arsene Wenger, particularly as he conceded recently that he declined investment in the squad in January despite generous offers from the board. There is a clear lack of confidence between the sticks for Arsenal this season, and whoever gets the nod in the Sunderland game will hope for a quiet afternoon. The return of Sol Campbell caused surprise across the country but so far he has produced some assured displays and he seems to have re injected the team with a sense of drive and determination that may have been lacking in recent seasons. Arsenal are still plagued by injurieswith Van Persie, Arshavin, Eduardo and Diaby the key players ruled out, but they can be thankful to have Bendtner back in the side.
Snderland continue to limp through the season and in recent weeks have become bore draw specialists. A lot has been made of Sunderlands unbelievable luck with injuries and suspensions this season but they now appear to be approaching their full strength line up, albeit without influential playes Reid, Henderson and Cattermole. Mifdfield is where Sunderland are really sufffering, with the supply to Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones all but drying up in recent weeks. Sunderland will need to be at their battling best to get anything out of this game.
Verdict: Arsenal Home Win
Odds: 1/5
Bookmaker: William Hill
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