Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking ahead of his side’s clash with Sunderland on Saturday.
The Black Cats travel to North London on Saturday afternoon, and will be hoping to secure another positive result against the top flight leaders, having held them to a draw at the Stadium of Light back in November.
And Regis Le Bris’ men could be aided in their cause by the expected absence of a handful of key names for their hosts at the Emirates Stadium. Speaking in a press conference on Friday afternoon, Arteta suggested that while winger Bukayo Saka is nearing a return to action, he is unlikely to feature against Sunderland. The Gunners boss explained: “His hip is getting much better, so hopefully very soon he will be with us.”
Elsewhere, Arteta provided mixed news on Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber, with the former “a matter of days” away from making his comeback, and the latter deemed “fine” to play this weekend.
The Arsenal head coach also issued an update on teenage winger Max Dowman, stating: “Max hasn't trained with us yet, so it will be still a few weeks I think, but he's getting better.” The Spaniard then reflected on the absence of Mikel Merino, who is currently sidelined with a broken foot, adding: “Obviously it's a big blow, Mikel offers something unique in the team, but he's going to be out for four months unfortunately with a very rare injury, so we need to support him, make sure that he's very connected with the team because he's going to still add a lot of value to the players and the staff, and that's it, keep him around.”
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What did Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta say about Sunderland?
Arteta took the time to address the challenge that he expects Sunderland to pose his side in the capital as well. He said: “They are obviously extremely competitive, really well-coached, they have very good individuals, very clear identity of what they want to do, where they want to take the game, and they are very good at it. You can see the results that they had against the top sides, so we know what to expect, but we need to deliver that tomorrow.”
On the prospect of moving nine points clear of title rivals Manchester City with a win over the Black Cats, Arteta said: “Another opportunity to win, to be better than the opposition and earn the right to win again, that's it. The statement is that we do what we have to do and it's going to be a really tough match. I think they [Sunderland] have been on an incredible run all season with what they've been doing, so we know the complexity of the match.”
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