Game Week 4 Predictions: Arsenal to beat Sunderland

Sunderland vs Arsenal preview: Black Cats host the 100% Gunners at the Stadium of Light in Saturday’s late kick-off.

Sunderland will hope to halt Arsenal's moving train like they did last season. Will the Gunners let them? (Photo credit: Opta)

 Sunderland vs Arsenal

Stadium of Light

8:00pm

Arsenal and Manchester City are the only remaining teams in the league with a 100% record. Sunderland will hope to do something about that when the Gunners visit the Stadium of Light on Saturday night.

The Black Cats snapped Arsenal's run of successive wins last season in this fixture; can they do it again? The Gunners have managed five straight wins across all competitions this season, and the familiar feeling is back on the horizon. Are we expecting a shock result on Saturday?

Sunderland is in Europe this season. The Black Cats will participate in the Europa League, and that means they will need quality depth to fire on all cylinders. They're not as stacked as their accomplished visitors, but they can get a result that will earn them respect again.

Arsenal is in a good place. The Gunners laboured to a 1-0 win over Napoli in the Champions League. It could have been more than the solitary goal, but the Gunners were poor in the final third, with the trio of Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, and Christos Tzolis all missing big chances.

Last weekend at the Emirates, the Gunners clinically took Chelsea to the cleaners. Despite conceding their first goal of the season, Arsenal wasn't in danger of losing the result at any point in the game, with Kai Havertz once again going hard against his former side.

Regis Le Bris confirmed that Habib Diarra is the only absentee for this one, which means Bryan Brobbey will be available for another physical battle against the Gunners' defence, and Enzo Le Fee will be the creative force behind the Dutchman.

Former Arsenal star Granit Xhaka will relish another battle with his old mates, with Noah Sadiki playing beside him in midfield. Tottenham loanee Kevin Danso is expected to line up in the heart of the defence alongside former Arsenal academy lad, Ban Ballard.

For the Gunners, we could see Jurrien Timber back in the setup. The Dutchman has returned to full training and will be assessed ahead of kickoff. Christian Mosquera will miss this one, so Ezri Konsa is expected to start the game.

Declan Rice and Bruno Guimaraes are the midfield combination many expect Mikel Arteta to favour; the fitness of the Brazilian is being managed, but we expect to see Rice and Bruno start this one with the physicality in the Sunderland ranks.

Up top, Christos Tzolis continues to impress, while Kai Havertz must be the first-choice attacker at the club now. Club captain Martin Odegaard seems to have returned to his best; he will be pivotal on Saturday alongside Bukayo Saka.

Verdict: Arsenal to win.