The Gunners have positioned themselves as title favourites after moving four points clear at the top following Sunday’s win over Crystal Palace. ..Continue Reading
With Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea all dropping points, many — including Gary Neville — are convinced this could be the season Mikel Arteta finally lifts the trophy.
Arsenal have won 11 of their 13 matches across all competitions, conceding only three goals, with a 1-0 loss to Liverpool and a 1-1 draw with Man City the only setbacks.
However, a challenging run of fixtures lies ahead, including London derbies against Tottenham and Chelsea, and a high-stakes Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.
Still, Merson has highlighted a different upcoming fixture that could prove unexpectedly tough for his former club.
“When I saw Arsenal’s fixtures recently, I thought they had such an easy run of games,” the former Arsenal star wrote in his Sky Sports column.
“But, in a couple of weeks, Sunderland are going to give them such a hard game at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland will cause Arsenal problems.
“They are an athletic team with pace. They are well drilled and organised, and they counter with pace. They also make the right decisions on the counter, picking the right pass.
“They didn’t waste the ball when they had it.
I was so impressed with them at Stamford Bridge, and you have to say they are safe. They were superb.
Back in the Premier League for the first time since 2017, Sunderland were tipped for relegation but have defied expectations with a remarkable start.
Regis Le Bris’ squad have lost only two of their first nine games, and their impressive 2-1 win at Chelsea on Saturday has propelled them to fourth place, just five points behind Arsenal.
A major contributor to their form is former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka, who made a surprise summer switch from Bayer Leverkusen.
“Whoever is in charge of Sunderland’s recruitment needs a knighthood,” Merson added.
“Xhaka has been some buy, but it is not just him. Every player that has come in has been exceptional.
“I don’t want to put any unnecessary pressure on them, but they don’t have to worry about relegation now after this start. They need another four or five wins in 29 football matches and I expect them to do that easy.
Arsenal are set to travel to the Stadium of Light on November 8, but before that, they face Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
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