please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Arsenal face Sunderland at the Emirates in the upcoming Saturday afternoon, as we enter a new season which as always brings new hopes for each supporter of each team up and down the football league. Arsenal as always it seems have had an eventful summer and the team will have a new look to it, after the arrival of Lukas Podolski,Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla. But as they come in, Arsenal's captain and star forward from last season heads to Manchester. Arsenal agreed the sale of Robin Van Persie to Manchester United this week for a reported fee of £24 Million. Van Persie scored 36 goals for the Gunners in all competitions last season and he was voted as the player of the year by his fellow players and by the football writers. Van Persie, scored both the goals that defeated Sunderland in this same fixture last season. His loss will be huge and it will be felt both on and off the pitch, but the Arsenal fans will have to look for new hero's. Arsenal have been in the top four ever since Arsene Wenger took over the managerial reigns in 1997, so only a fool would write off their chances of claiming another place in the top four. But Van Persie's exit does pour cold water over any aspirations Arsenal fans had of winning the two major trophies that they so badly want. His replacements come in the shape of Giroud and Podolski. The former was the top scorer in Ligue 1 last season and Podolski has over 40 goals for his national team, Germany. But they are untested in the premier league and will surely need some time to settle into a new league and country. Sunderland, have not been as busy in the transfer window as they have been in past seasons. Their main transfer target for has been Steven Fletcher and they are still trying to secure his services. Martin O'Neill was brought in in the middle of last season to replace Steve Bruce and his impact was instant and he steered them away from the bottom of the league. But, without the investment in the squad, it's hard to see how he can take this Sunderland team to even greater heights. Both of these sides, played each other three times last season, and Arsenal won both the league meetings, while Sunderland came out on top in the FA Cup and knocked Arsenal out. One of Arsenal's biggest problems last season was their defence, they let in a staggering 48 goals in the league alone. That is simply not good enough and you can never compete for anything with that sort of defence. Wenger has not addressed this issue in the transfer window and the Arsenal’s defence remains the same in terms of personal. Pat Rice retired after the years of great service he gave to the club and Steve Bould was named as his replacement. Arsenal fans hope that his influence will help the Arsenal defence. Thomas Vermaelen, spoke about the 'small details' that Bould was working on and if Arsenal can address this issue then they can improve from last season on the defensive side. Defending as a team is also vital and Arsenal's game plan without the ball has been severely lacking. They do not press as a team and the shape when defending needs to be worked on. Vermaelen looks set to be named the new club captain and he needs to lead by example. Last season, Vermaelen made far too many mistakes and you can only hope that he has learnt from those mistakes. The rise of Laurent Koscielny shows no sign of slowing and now he and Arsenal fans will hope that he can firmly establish himself as one of the best CB's in Europe. Bacary Sagna, is still recovering from his serious long term injury and he will be missed. Carl Jenkinson and Nico Yennaris will fight it out for a place as his deputy. Kieran Gibbs and Andre Santos will both compete for a starting spot on the other flank. Gibbs looks to have the edge after pre-season and he looks set to start at LB against Sunderland. In midfield, the uncertain future of Alex Song casts doubts over how the midfield will line up for the upcoming season. Francis Coquelin will be looking to use this season as his breakthrough into the first team and he has the talent to do just that. Mikel Arteta will surely be one of the key players for Arsenal this season. His experience is going to be key and his presence in the midfield will reassure the other players because of the way he goes about his game in that calm and controlled fashion. One of the biggest blows to Arsenal in the off-season was the news that Jack Wilshere will not be ready for the start of the new season. Wilshere is one of the most talented players in the Arsenal squad and his absence will be keenly felt. One player returning from injury is Abou Diaby who has been beset by injuries. Diaby has the talent to make and impact, but it's his body that lets him down. He will be hoping for better luck on that front this season. The new edition in midfield is the Spanish international Santi Cazorla. Arsenal took advantage of Malaga's financial trouble and secured the services of one of the most of the highly rated players in La Liga. Cazorla is a player cut from the same cloth as the likes of Iniesta,Silva,Xavi and Fabregas. Arsenal fans can look forward to being thrilled by his skills. Even though it was year later then it should have been, Fabregas might have finally been replaced. On the wings, Theo Walcott will be looking to occupy that right wing spot and he will hope that this will be the year where he can make the step up and look to establish himself as one of the best wide of the players in the league. A lack of consistency is Walcott's biggest problem and without overcoming that, he will never be the player that many thought he might become. Walcott will miss that connection he had with Van Persie, but in Giroud he has a new forward to work with. Gervinho has had his one year to settle into a new league and country, so now he will be looking to make his mark on this Arsenal team. Gervinho has been of the stand out players in pre-season and his wing play can cause all sort of problems to the other team. But, getting into the first team will not be easy, as he will have the likes of Podolski and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain to compete with. Everyone at Arsenal have spoken about getting off to a good start this season and right the wrongs of the previous season. The game against Sunderland is vitally important and Arsenal need to get off to winning start in order to halt all the negativity sounding the departure of Van Persie and the possible one of Alex Song. A new season brings new hope and the Arsenal fans will be hoping that their new signings hit the ground running and change the mood around the Emirates by setting a winning tone from game one. Team News: Arsene Wenger: Three Key Match-ups: please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Overall Record vs: Sunderland Played: 140 Wins: 54 Draws: 38 Losses: 48 For: 223 Against: 196 GD: 27 Last 6 Meetings: Sunderland 2 - 0 Arsenal (FA Cup) Sunderland 1 - 2 Arsenal Arsenal 2 - 1 Sunderland Arsenal 0 - 0 Sunderland Sunderland 1 - 1 Arsenal Arsenal 2 - 0 Sunderland please log in to view this image Managers View: Arsene Wenger on replacing Robin Van Persie: My Team: please log in to view this image Final Score: please log in to view this image
I'd be surprised if Giroud starts. More likely Podolski through the middle and Gervinho on the left (unless he's injured)
Would expect something like: Szczesny -- Gibbs, Vermaelen, Koscielny (or Mertesacker), Jenkinson -- Song, Arteta (or Diaby), Cazorla -- Gervinho, Podolski, Walcott. All depends on fitness.
It was hard doing this match thread, because it's seriously hard to know what the team will be. Will Song play? The RB is a mystery and not sure who will play through the middle. My team was a bit of guess. Although, maybe it will be more clear after Wenger's press conference.
I have a feeling he might start with Diaby to show he has faith in him, and that he's in his plans this season. I don't think he's ever been more desperate for a player to come through like with Diaby... he really rates him, it shows in every interview.
Would not mind seeing Diaby start. He gives us something different for sure. There is also Ramsey who we have not even talked about. He played the full 90 minutes for Wales yesterday and has been playing competitive football in the Olympics.
I suppose it's worth mentioning that Wales were dreadful yesterday and lost to a country that didn't exist 10 years ago. Anyway, as i said on the prediction thread, 3-1 to us.
