England - Premier League
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Played
February 11, 2012 3:00 PM GMT
Stadium of Light — Sunderland
Referee:‬ N. Swarbrick‎
Attendance:‬ 40312‎
 
70′ James McClean
Aaron Ramsey 75′
 
Thierry Henry 90+1′

Premier League Preview: Sunderland - Arsenal

The Gunners returned to form in their recent clash against Blackburn Rovers, scoring seven goals, but face a Black Cats side revitalised under Martin O'Neill

By Adithya Ananth

More On :  Arsenal, Sunderland, Sunderland vs Arsenal

PROBABLE LINEUPS

SUNDERLAND

Mignolet
Bardsley, O'Shea, Turner, Richardson
Larsson, Colback, Gardner, McClean
Sessegnon
Campbell
ARSENAL

Szczesny
Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Vermaelen
Song, Ramsey, Arteta
Walcott, Van Persie, Oxlade-Chamberlain

Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has enjoyed great success since taking charge at the Stadium of Light, despite a lengthy list of those injured in battle.

Marcos Angeleri (knee), Nicklas Bendtner (face), Titus Bramble (Achilles), Wes Brown (knee), Lee Cattermole (hamstring), Matthew Kilgallon and David Vaughan (both ankle) are all sidelined for the upcoming clash.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger also has a few players unavailable, as Abou Diaby (muscle), Carl Jenkinson (back), Andre Santos and Jack Wilshere (both ankle) remain in the treatment room. Meanwhile, Gervinho is away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Marouane Chamakh has returned from international duty after Morocco were eliminated from the tournament in Africa at an early stage. However, he is suffering from fatigue and is a doubt for the upcoming clash against the Black Cats.

Kieran Gibbs has returned from a hernia problem, but is unlikely to return to the starting line-up straight away.


 DID YOU KNOW?

  • Sunderland are undefeated in their last three league games against the Gunners at the Stadium of Light. But they did lose their last clash at the Emirates Stadium as Arsene Wenger's men secured a 2-1 result.
  • The Black Cats have a habit of scoring every alternate match against this opposition, and this trend has gone on for the last 15 matches against the north London club. If this continues, they would not score in the upcoming game since they hit the back of the net against the Gunners earlier in the season.
  • The Black Cats are undefeated in their last five games in all competitions, which includes victories over Swansea City, Norwich City and Stoke City. They have a similar record at home in league games, having beaten Manchester City on New Year's Day.
  • Martin O'Neill's men have also kept clean sheets in their last three victories on Wearside.
  • Arsenal have won only one of their last five matches in the Premier League, but that was a thumping 7-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers in their last game.
  • After winning three consecutive away games, Wenger's men have hit a rough patch as they have won only one of their last five on the road.
  • Robin van Persie (pictured right) leads the goal scoring charts in the top-flight, having hit the back of the net 22 times this season. He also managed to score the Gunners' fastest-ever goal in the Premier League when they met Sunderland earlier in the season, when he managed to put the ball past the goalkeeper in 29 seconds.
  • If all matches ended at half-time, then the Gunners would still have been in sixth position. But the difference between them and fourth-placed Chelsea would have been five points instead of three.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Sunderland 1-3 Arsenal
    23.63 %
  • Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal
    12.43 %
  • Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal
    11.61 %
Head to Head
England - FA Cup ‎(FA)‎ Feb 18, 2012 Sunderland 2 - Arsenal 0
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England - Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ Feb 11, 2012 Sunderland 1 - Arsenal 2
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England - Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ Oct 16, 2011 Arsenal 2 - Sunderland 1
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England - Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ Mar 5, 2011 Arsenal 0 - Sunderland 0
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England - Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ Sep 18, 2010 Sunderland 1 - Arsenal 1
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Last Five Matches
Sunderland
May 13, 2012Sunderland 0 - Man Utd. 1EPL
May 6, 2012Fulham 2 - Sunderland 1EPL
Apr 28, 2012Sunderland 2 - Bolton 2EPL
Apr 21, 2012Aston Villa 0 - Sunderland 0EPL
Apr 14, 2012Sunderland 0 - Wolves 0EPL
Arsenal
May 13, 2012West Bromwich Albion 2 - Arsenal 3EPL
May 5, 2012Arsenal 3 - Norwich City 3EPL
Apr 28, 2012Stoke 1 - Arsenal 1EPL
Apr 21, 2012Arsenal 0 - Chelsea FC 0EPL
Apr 16, 2012Arsenal 1 - Wigan Athletic 2EPL
Odds
Returns: Sunderland £130.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Draw £34.00 Bet365 Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Returns: Arsenal £80.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Team News
Available Squads
22Simon MignoletGoalkeeper
2Phil BardsleyDefender
4Michael TurnerDefender
16John O'SheaDefender
11Kieran RichardsonMidfielder
7Sebastian LarssonMidfielder
8Craig GardnerMidfielder
14Jack ColbackMidfielder
23James McCleanStriker
28Stéphane SessegnonMidfielder
9Fraizer CampbellStriker
20Keiren WestwoodGoalkeeper
3Wayne BridgeDefender
16Sotirios KyrgiakosDefender
18David MeylerMidfielder
27Ahmed El MohamadyMidfielder
10Connor WickhamStriker
17Dong-Won JiStriker
13Wojciech SzczesnyGoalkeeper
3Bacary SagnaDefender
4Per MertesackerDefender
5Thomas VermaelenDefender
6Laurent KoscielnyDefender
8Mikel ArtetaMidfielder
17Alex SongMidfielder
7Tomas RosickyMidfielder
15Alex Oxlade-ChamberlainStriker
14Theo WalcottStriker
10Robin van PersieStriker
21Lukasz FabianskiGoalkeeper
28Kieran GibbsDefender
16Aaron RamseyMidfielder
10Andrey ArshavinMidfielder
30Yossi BenayounMidfielder
35Francis CoquelinMidfielder
14Thierry HenryStriker
Results
ALL MATCHES >>
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Robin van Persie Robin van Persie
Striker
Arsenal 		30 2
Wayne Rooney Wayne Rooney
Striker
Man Utd. 		27 6
Kun Agüero Kun Agüero
Striker
Manchester City 		23 3
Aiyegbeni Yakubu Aiyegbeni Yakubu
Striker
Blackburn Rovers 		17 4
Emmanuel Adebayor Emmanuel Adebayor
Striker
Tottenham 		17 3