Sunderland face Arsenal in the Premier League this weekend.
Influential Arsenal trio Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, and Jurrien Timber were all absent from an open training session held by the Gunners on Thursday ahead of their Premier League clash with Sunderland this weekend.
The Black Cats travel to the Emirates on Saturday afternoon, and will be looking to record another positive result against the league leaders having secured a dramatic 2-2 draw when the two sides met at the Stadium of Light back in November.
And their cause may yetbe aided by a smattering of key absences for the hosts in North London. Saka, Odegaard, and Timber all missed out as Arsenal trained in front of the press in midweek, raising questions over whether or not they will be fit and available for Mikel Arteta’s squad to face Sunderland.
For his part, Saka has not featured for the Gunners since limping out of the warm-up against Leeds United on January 31st, while Odegaard missed Tuesday's Carabao Cup semi-final second win leg over Chelsea due to injury as well. Timber did take part in that contest, completing a full 90 minutes, with no concrete reason yet provided as to why he was absent from Thursday’s session.
What has Sunderland head coach said about his side ahead of Arsenal clash?
Elsewhere, Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris suggested that deadline day signing Nilson Angulo could be in line to feature for his new club at the weekend. In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, the Black Cats boss explained: “Nilson will arrive this evening.
“We'll see when he'll be with us [how quickly he’ll be involved]. He played a lot, so he's fit. Now it's a question of connection with his teammates, with the squad. It could be quick and I hope it will be the case. We'll see, but he could be involved on Saturday.”
Le Bris also revealed that there is still no definitive timeframe on Granit Xhaka’s return from injury, but did state that the midfielder was making progress in his recovery. “No update on Granit yet, but he's doing well”, he said. “He was running on the treadmill today, so it's positive.”
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Meanwhile, Le Bris confirmed that Omar Alderete is fit to take his place in the squad. The Paraguayan limped off in the final moments of a 3-0 win over Burnley on Monday, but the Black Cats boss admitted after the game that it was a precautionary move.
On Sunderland’s hopes of securing a positive result in the capital this weekend, Le Bris said: “We had to show the best version of Sunderland with an underdog mindset. They are playing at a huge level. They are impressive in the Premier League, outstanding in the Champions League. They are probably one of the best teams in Europe at the minute. So it’s a tough challenge, exciting challenge - I would like to paint this picture. But we know that the level expected is really high, we'll try our best.”
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