Arsenal faces another struggling Northeast squad but hopes for an improved result when it visits David Moyes‘ miserable Sunderland on Saturday (7:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN and streaming via NBC Sports Live).
Arsene Wenger‘s men drew Middlesbrough 0-0 and needed some fine work from Petr Cech just to find a point last weekend, but Sunderland could be just the tonic.
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The Black Cats have a mere two points through nine PL matches this year, five points shy of safety.
Playing the first match of the day allows Arsenal to set the tone for the other four teams within a point of the Premier League lead. Look for the Gunners to take it to Sunderland early, and emerge around 9:30 a.m. ET with a three-point lead atop the table.
What they’re saying
Sunderland’s Duncan Watmore on the team’s mindset: “You could say we haven’t had much luck but sometimes you’ve got to earn it, so we will keep working hard for each other and be positive. Our team ethic is very important but we have great lads in the dressing room and good backroom staff, so everyone at the club is pulling in the same direction.”
Arsene Wenger on Arsenal CB Shkodran Mustafi: “He is not a quiet guy who hides. He speaks out with his opinion and communicates a lot. Even when you isolate the pictures of the game and look at that he speaks a lot during the game. He has the potential [to be a great defender for Arsenal], which is interesting at the moment. It it is a bit too early to say, you have to be cautious when a guy has played only three or four games.”
Prediction
At some point, Sunderland has to find a win, right? That is unlikely to be Friday, as Arsenal has an extra day’s rest and was able to take it easy against Reading in the EFL Cup while Sunderland expelled a great deal of energy 24 hours later in a loss to Southampton. Maybe Jermain Defoe finds the net against his old rivals, but Arsenal should find it a few more times. Gunners, 3-1.
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