The big Sunderland selection debate after Everton draw
Sunderland host Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has claimed that he is “not surprised” by the strong start that Sunderland have made to their long-awaited Premier League return, while also providing a detailed team news update on his squad ahead of the two sides meeting at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon.
The Black Cats are currently fourth in the table, just seven points adrift of their league-leading visitors, despite being tipped for a relegation battle by many onlookers prior to a ball being kicked this term.
But speaking in a pre-match press conference on Friday morning, Arteta suggested that Sunderland’s organisational traits and admirable team spirit more than justify their lofty standing at this early stage of the campaign.
What did Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta say about Sunderland?
When asked if he was surprised by the start that Sunderland have made to the new season, Arteta said: “Very well, not surprised when you analyse them and you see how well organised they are, how they adjust things, the spirit that they have within the team, I'm not surprised because they fully deserve the position that they have at the moment so we know the type of game that we expect to play tomorrow and where the opportunities are and the things that we have to do very well to beat them and that's what we're going to try to do.”
Artet was also asked about the current injury status of his side, and initially provided a cryptic response before going into greater detail about the players that he expects to miss out on the Gunners’ trip to Wearside. He said: “No, no news remains the same and nobody new that can join the squad, so all the same.”
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When pushed on the expected unavailability of Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres, and Gabriel Martinelli, Arteta continued: “I cannot confirm all of that, but you are not far. Some of them [could be back after the international break], all of them, I don't know. I mean, there are a lot of things that have to happen in the next two weeks, and everything has to be perfect. But I think we'll be very close with most of them to be in a really strong position.”
Arteta was also asked about Gabriel Jesus’ ongoing recovery, adding: “I don't know, now it's about making the steps day by day, in a different surrounding. Obviously he's been doing everything on his own, now he's got players around him, very competitive players around him, and see how he copes with that. But he's full of energy, I love the reaction of all his teammates when he join us, and yeah, great to have him back.”
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