Sunderland vs Arsenal: 5 Key Battles

After two whole weeks, Premier League football is finally back and come 3pm on Saturday afternoon, 40,000+ fans will be settling down in their seats to watch Paolo Di Canio's Sunderland take on Arsene Wenger's Arsenal. Arsenal enter this game off the back of a 1-0 derby win against rivals Tottenham but with a lot of their players taking part in internationals, you could be forgiven for expecting Arsenal's players to struggle somewhat against an almost fully fit Sunderland team - who only had four take part in international football. However, at least two of Arsenal's international players will be entering the game in high spirits, and those two will be Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker, both of whom managed to bag a goal each in Germany's 3-0 win against the Faroe Islands. The four Sunderland players who were on international duty were not to have as prosperous a time as none of them played more than an hour, meaning they are likely to - in theory - be fresher than Arsenal's internationals. Following Sunderland's 3-1 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace two weeks ago, I wouldn't be too surprised if Di Canio had some very stern words for his side - he'll be hoping that his men can take his words on board. Here, we take a look at 5 Key Battles ahead of Sunderland vs Arsenal.
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Contributor

17. Oldham Athletic fan and FC Barcelona follower. Love Football and Sport in general. Currently attending Blue Coat Sixth Form. Studying Mathematics, English Language, Geography and Media. Be sure to follow me on Twitter - @joshuapsjones