Arsenal take on Sunderland at the Emirates tomorrow as they begin their Premier League campaign. Fresh from the loss of captain and last season’s golden boot winner Van Persie, who is set to join Manchester United, The Gunners will look to new signings Olivier
Giroud and Lukas Podolski to fill the void left by the Dutchman.
Sunderland will also look forward to the clash. The club has improved significantly under manager Martin O’Neil and have just signed free agent Louis Saha from Tottenham Hotspur on a one-year deal. Sunderland will be looking to take advantage of the new
look Arsenal side and hope that the team is still adjusting with all the new signings. The game is set to be a thriller as both teams face off in North London.
Arsenal
The club will probably deploy a formation of 4-2-3-1.
Arsenal will be without the likes of Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky and possibly Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, though it is expected that the young attacker will feature and probably start from the bench.
With Van Persie gone, Arsenal will probably start Frenchman Olivier Giroud up front, with Lukas Podolski on the left flank and Theo Walcott on the right. Walcott had pulled out of England’s match against Italy earlier this week on account of an injury, but
now looks okay to be back in the side. Arsenal’s midfield will probably consist of Alex Song, Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta.
At the back, Arsenal are still without Bacary Sagna, but may have Francis Coquelin to fill in for the Frenchman. The Gunners will have a familiar back three of Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny and Kieran Gibbs. Wojciech Szczesny will start in goal and
that makes up the starting eleven for Arsenal.
On the bench, I expect Arsenal to have the likes of Abou Diaby, Andre Santos, Chamberlain, Per Mertesacker, Johan Djourou, Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh.
Arsenal beat Sunderland 2-1 last time they played at the Emirates, but both Arsenal goals had come from Robin Van Persie. It will be interesting to see how the club will fare off without their captain and goal machine.
Sunderland
Sunderland are expected to play a simple 4-5-1, with new signing Louis Saha up front. Martin O’Neil signed Carlos Cuellar from his former club Aston Villa and yesterday finalised the signing of French veteran striker Louis Saha. The club will be looking
to start their Premier League campaign on a high as they travel to the Emirates.
In goal, Sunderland will have Simon Mignolet in goal and have a back four of John O’Shea, Wes Brown, Carlos Cuellar and Phil Bardsley.
The midfield will consist of five players, Lee Cattermole, Sebastian Larsson, Fraizer Campbell, James McClean and Craig Gardner. Stephane Sessegnon will probably play as second striker, right behind new signing Louis Saha.
I think Arsenal will edge out Sunderland and go on to win the game. The Arsenal squad has too much quality, despite the departure of Robin Van Persie. The club has three new signings and all three players will be looking to make their mark for the club as
they make their Premier League debut.
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