Gameweek 15 is upon us and this weekend Arsenal will take on Sam Allardyce’s Sunderland. The Black Cats have won their last two fixtures and so will be looking to widen the gap between them and the relegation zone. The Gunners, on the other hand, have not won in their last three Barclays Premier League fixtures and in the process have lost ground on league leaders Manchester City. As such, despite their injury woes, Arsene Wenger’s men will be looking to secure three points and get their title challenge back on track.
The first player that the Gunners will need to keep an eye on is former Arsenal player Seb Larsson. The Swede has been a regular in the Sunderland side since 2011 when he made to move there from Birmingham and he is most famed for his set-piece ability. Therefore, it goes without saying that giving away needless free-kicks is something that must not happen. Containing players rather than going in for tackles on the edge of the box is how the Arsenal midfield need to operate. With Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla both injured, the starting central midfielders will be relatively untested together, so they must make sure that they keep close to one another to force the Sunderland attackers away from Petr Cech’s box.
The other player who has performed well for the Black Cats this season is Duncan Watmore. The England under-21 international has netted three times in nine appearances for Allardyce’s side and is looking set to become a fan favourite at the club. The unusual thing about Watmore is that he didn’t progress through the youth levels of football and so didn’t receive the intense training that others did during their younger years. Due to this, his style is quite different to many other players. He isn’t afraid to run at defenders despite his lack of intense speed on the ball and also backs his confidence in front of goal; affording him the nerve to shoot from almost anywhere. This is either admirable or a sing of inexperience, either way, the Gunners can’t be caught out by it. Therefore, it is crucial that the Arsenal defenders mark him tightly; if they can stop him before he gets going, then his impact will be severely limited.
In attack, the Gunners need to be more adventurous and clinical in front of goal. They could be forgiven for their huge list of injuries for lacking some of their initial quality, but with Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain back in the side, as well as Mesut Ozil finding top form, there is no reason why the Gunners can’t find their scoring boots again and thrash Sunderland.
This game is one, much like last week, that Arsene Wenger’s men need to win. However, unlike last week, they must make sure that they make the most of their chances. Should they create enough chances then eventually they will score and with Sunderland’s lacklustre attacking force, it is likely that the north London side will have enough to dominate the game.
