Will Arsenal's winning streak continue?
On Tuesday night, the Gunners swatted aside Slavia Prague 3-0 in the Champions League, with Bukayo Saka breaking the deadlock from the penalty spot in the Czech capital, before makeshift centre-forward Mikel Merino scored twice to rubber stamp the points.
That made it ten successive victories for Mikel Arteta, as well as being an eighth consecutive clean sheet, equaling Arsenal's club record set in 1903, a sequence ended by Glossop North End all those years ago.
Only once before has a top-flight English club won eight games in a row all without conceding, this achieved by Liverpool in February 1920, a record the Gunners can break with victory at the Stadium of Light when they take on Sunderland on Saturday evening.
However, if they're going to leave Wearside victorious, they will need to silence a familiar foe.
Granit Xhaka's roller coaster Arsenal career
Few players in football history have ever enjoyed quite the character arc at one club experienced by Granit Xhaka during his seven seasons at Arsenal.
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The Swiss international was a key figure in the team that won the FA Cup under Arsène Wenger in his first season, but was then part of a team in decline, which ultimately led to Wenger's departure and Unai Emery's, at best, mixed reign.
This came to a head in October 2019 when Xhaka was infamously jeered off against Crystal Palace but, as someone who was in attendance that afternoon, it was all a massive misunderstanding.
Granit-Xhaka-Arsenal-redemption
Arsenal had raced into a 2-0 lead inside nine minutes only to, in trademark fashion under Emery, sit back, allowing Palace to grow into the game and equalise shortly after half time.
Thus, Emery decided to introduce a teenager by the name of Bukayo Saka, whatever happened to him?, and as fourth official Tim Robinson raises his board with a red number 34 on it, Xhaka trudged off the pitch at the speed of a naughty schoolboy sent to the head teacher's office.
Having seen their side relinquish a two goal advantage, at first, supporters began shouting "get off", meaning get off the pitch so we can resume this match and beat Crystal Palace, but Xhaka interpreted this as a personal attack, thereby emphatically cupping his ear and removing his shirt before angrily storming down the tunnel.
At this point, it appeared as though the midfielder would never play for the club again, but Emery was sacked later that month and everything changed following the appointment of Arteta.
Xhaka would go on to make 297 appearances for the club, only 12 men have made more for Arsenal in the Premier League, departing a hero, having been a key figure in the 2022/23 side that unexpectedly came so close to winning the title, laying the foundations for where the team is now.
After helping Bayer Leverkusen claim a first-ever Meisterschale, winning the unbeaten Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double, Xhaka surprisingly returned to English football this summer, joining newly-promoted Sunderland, playing every minute of every game with the Black Cats flying high, sat fourth in the Premier League table, scoring his first goal for the club against Everton on Monday night.
Barry Glendenning of the Guardian asserts that the Swiss international has been the 'most influential' member of Régis Le Bris' team so far this season, meaning stopping Xhaka will surely be key to Arteta's game plan, so which current member of the Arsenal team is best equipped to do just that?
Arsenal's "aggressive" star who can silence Granit Xhaka
A concern for Gooners is their growing injury list, given that Martin Ødegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Viktor Gyökeres, Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus will all miss this weekend's trip to Wearside due to injury.
Others, such as Gabriel, William Saliba, Jurriën Timber and Declan Rice are having to take on a high workload while, in contrast, it has been a quiet week for Martín Zubimendi, so he will be raring to go at the Stadium of Light.
Martin-Zubimendi-arsenal
Having been booked in each of the first three Champions League matches, the Spaniard did not travel to Prague due to suspension, with Christian Nørgaard deputising at the base of midfield.
Largely because it was finalised right at the start of the window, Zubimendi's arrival in North London was not met with the fanfare it deserved, but he has pretty inarguably been the Gunners' most impressive summer recruit so far, with the table below supporting this assertion.
Zubimendi Arsenal stats
Stats
Minutes
Goals
Completed passes
Pass completion %
Key passes
Passes into final 3rd
Progressive passes
Shot-creating actions
Tackles
Interceptions
Distance covered per 90
Touches
Average rating
*minimum 300 passes completed.
Stats via FBref & SofaScore
As the numbers highlight, Zubimendi ranks highly for pretty much every metric this season, most notably when it comes to passing, defending, distance covered and touches.
The Spaniard opened his account against Nottingham Forest in September, actually scoring twice that afternoon, this jaw-dropping strike named the Premier League's goal of the month.
His performances have led to Football Transfers believing his estimated market valuation has increased to around £48m.
Meantime, Adam Keys notes that Zubimendi both "positions himself perfectly for second balls" while also orchestrating play when in possession, while Hand of Arsenal adds that he is a "sublime" player who is "deceptively aggressive" and "knows how to control the tempo and when to break lines and progress"
All of this is going to be needed if the Gunners are going to beat Sunderland on Saturday, thereby moving nine points clear of Manchester City, for 23 hours at least.
Dowman-Zubimendi-Leao
With the Black Cats likely to set up in a low block to start, while also posing a threat, often through their midfield general Xhaka, Zubimendi's overall quality will be vital, with Tuesday acting as a timely reminder, without wanting to denigrate Nørgaard, of how important the Spaniard is, this crystallised in his absence.