Things have turned from bad to worse for Sunderland and it does not look to go towards improvement anytime soon considering the fixtures they have ahead. After a 1-0 loss away to West Ham last weekend, David Moyes lost again by the same margin when they faced Southampton in the midweek in the English League Cup.
If it is any relief to the team, their long injury list is finally reducing. From 9 players out with injury two weeks back, it is now down to 6, but those players that still out includes the likes of Sebastian Larsson, Fabio Borini, Adnan Januzaj and more.
Sunderland’s home record have been terrible with the Black Cats only managing to get 1 point from the 4 played so far. David Moyes had no choice but to refrain from using many first team players in the midweek against Southampton. He was forced to used Jermain Defoe, Pienaar and Lynden Gooch in a failed attempt to save the match.
Defending
With Vito Mannone still out, Jordan Pickford will take the posts and he seems to have earned manager’s confidence. Sunderland have lost by slim margins of 1-0 in most matches. If they defend tight, they might as well be pushing towards to a draw against Arsenal.
Moyes will at least have his back four in one piece for the big clash. He had rested Javier Manquillo and John O’Shea for the midweek game and they both should take their place in the weekend. With more than a day of rest, van Aanholt and Kone should also start at the back.
Midfield
At the center of the midfield, Paddy McNair is expected to continue his anchoring position despite being unable to prove himself yet. But with Jan Kirchhoff injured, Moyes doesn’t seem to have more options in that position. There will be little rest for Jack Rodwell and Didier Ndong as Moyes was unable to rest the duo in this game. lacking squad depth, Moyes had to risk on first team player’s mileage and will be hoping to avoid any further injuries.
With Steven Pienaar starting from the bench against Southampton, he will be starting against Arsenal. Wabbi Khazri will be taking the left wing.
Attack
With Jermain Defoe starting from the bench in the League Cup, Moyes have to start with the Englishman in this game. He has been the only outstanding player in the squad and a lot will be expected from him. Duncan Watmore is also expected to start on the right forward position with Defoe.
