Sunderland V Arsenal: No Light Matter

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, real football is back. It’s a surprise that most links on newsnow are still talking about the Henry incident. Perhaps, it shows the importance of what happened and what’s at stake. I, for one, am happy to forget all that and bring my thoughts back to the main thing.

An away trip to the stadium of light just after an interlull is not an easy fixture by any means. We have often seen in the past that our players “are not sharp enough!” for such games. On the other hand, a win tomorrow will set up the foundation for next week’s big game. Arsene summed it up perfectly,

The game against Chelsea has more significance if we win tomorrow

Sunderland have done well at home this season and they troubled us last season as well. Although those were predominantly defensive performances, they have shown a more attacking mentality this year. Positive football is always good for us and it will certainly allow us more freedom to express our qualities.

The Black Cats have a good record against top teams this year with a home win over Liverpool and a draw at Old Trafford. They did lose to Chelsea at home and I think we need to repeat that result as the Blues are our main competitors. Their last five home results are – DWWWW and our last five away results are – WDWLL.

With Kenwyne Jones suspended, the hosts will miss an important dimension that could have troubled us. Without the height and physical presence of the T&T striker, their biggest threat will come from pace. In Bent, Richardson and Campbell, Sunderland have some really quick players who will look to exploit the high line that we play. Reid and Malbranque will look to supply the creativity for the quicker players.

I am quite keen to see how their captain, Cana, performs. He was a man linked with us for a long time. From whatever little I have seen of him, I am not convinced he is anything special but his performance against the best attacking midfield in England will be a better marker.

It will also be interesting to see the starting eleven that Arsene picks. Injury news is positive and a number of players like Denilson, Vela, Walcott and Traore are back in contention. I am hoping we won’t rush any of them into action and all will be on the bench. This decision will depend on the fitness of Gallas, Sagna and Arshavin as well. But I don’t think AW will risk making too many changes, especially in central defence.

Eduardo is certain to lead the line and it is a good opportunity for him to get a run of games in a central role. Vela might come in on the left if Arshavin is not mentally or physically ready for the game. I am a big fan of both these left footed strikers. Their South American flair and presence on the field is delightful to watch and they play well in tandem.

With Diaby injured and Denilson just returning from injury, it will be another chance for Rambo to get a start. He has an exciting talent and is slowly blossoming into a fantastic midfield player. In case you haven’t seen his brilliant performance against Scotland, you can see the goal here, assist here and pre-assist here. The way he lost the defender with just his body movement shows incredible skill, while his movement and passing for other goals was top quality.

I expect the following starting line up,

Almunia; Eboue; Gallas, Vermaelen, Silvestre; Cesc, Song, Ramsey; Nasri, Eduardo, Arshavin;

If our players can maintain a high tempo at the start and control the pace of the game, we should win this one by a two goal margin.