After the last International break I was surprised at the way many were still upset about them. I mean back then, they were World Cup games, hence important fixtures, and (if I recall well) five Arsenal players found the back of the net, something which ultimately was indeed beneficial as after that, we had a brilliant run of form.

This time around it’s different. Even if Ramsey, Fabregas and Eboue scored, we of course suffered injuries and are waiting on how fit Arshavin is for the game. I understand the play-offs but I don’t agree with friendly Internationals before November and December, two crucial months in English football.

Sunderland

As I said last week, this game goes from tricky to very difficult. Even if there are players ready to come in for the injured ones, you can’t hide the fact that we need to replace one of our best players of the season so far and that whoever will fill the Clichy gap at left back will be Wenger’s third choice for that role.

Also, Sunderland are not shy to prove a point against big teams. Having defeated Liverpool at home and snatched an important 2-2 away win against Manchester United, they will want to grab all three points on Saturday, especially since that Liverpool win was their last win in the Premiership.

Darren Bent is of course one to watch. With eight goals, he’s up there in the top scorers table alongside the best strikers in the domestic league.

Favourite line-up

Ah. How much speculation there was during the last seven days on who should replace van Persie, who should replace Gibbs and who should start in midfield with Song missing Chelsea if booked.

Well, I would start with these eleven:

First of all, Emmanuel Eboue can play at left-back. I don’t remember the game but when he played there last season, I was impressed. Two, I would be a fool not to consider Aaron Ramsey now that he hit top form and score that magnificent goal scored against Scotland, which you can watch here.

I didn’t include Andrey Arshavin. The Russian looked tired even before leaving for International duty, let alone after two stressful back-to-back games with his National side. Believe me, we need him fit and ready for Chelsea, where I repeat, he will be the man of the match.

I’m also not including Denilson as even though he’ll part of the squad, I believe it’s too early for him to make a comeback. Finally, Eduardo and Vela are the two I would start with up front.

Pre-match Interviews

Wenger is a genius. Sunderland manager Steve Bruce was full of praise for the Frenchman ahead of the game, declaring how he will always be grateful to Wenger for the loan of Bendtner, Muamba and Larsson when he was coaching Birmingham.

Bruce told the Sunderland Echo:

I get on well with Arsene and, of all the managers, he’s probably helped me the most.

He helped me get promoted with Birmingham by giving me three players on loan in one season – Nicklas Bendtner, Fabrice Muamba and Sebastian Larsson – and I’ll always be grateful for that.

They were arguably my three best players that season, so they had a massive influence on getting the club up.

Arsenal are an exceptionally young, gifted team and the fella in charge is bordering on a genius. He’s produced team after team, sold player after player and yet always managed to find other players to take their place.

He’s quite an incredible manager and, with his current crop of players, the future looks very, very healthy indeed for Arsenal.

He’s got to be up there with the greats because of how his teams play and the way he keeps on producing players and teams.

Arsene Wenger was relieved that Robin van Persie and Kieran Gibbs will be sidelined for less than initially thought. The Dutchman and the young Englishman both suffered injuries when on duty with their respective National sides.

The Frenchman told Arsenal TV Online:

We knew that when Robin came out with this injury, that he would be out for a long time. But frankly I feared it would be more because the first news was very, very bad. So it was a relief that he would be out for six weeks.

Of course it is a disappointment and something we did not want but I feel we have enough strength to compensate for his absence for a while. It will also allow him to be fresh for when he comes back.

[As for Kieran], our medical staff called me saying he was in hospital in Lithuania with a suspected broken metatarsal. Later on it was much better news. He will still be out for Sunderland but maybe we could have him back for Standard Liege on Tuesday.

The Gunning Hawk Coverage

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