Overview
After taking two more long steps on the journey to conquer the quadruple last week, Arsenal will aim for a third victory in 8 days when they welcome Sunderland in north London.
Besides still having a chance in the Champions League and FA Cup, Arsenal is leading the Premier League with a 6-point gap after winning against Leeds last weekend. Meanwhile, the two closest chasing opponents, Manchester City and Aston Villa, both stumbled.
In the middle of the week, Mikel Arteta's team continued to extend their excitement by winning a ticket to the Carabao Cup final, after a 1-0 victory over Chelsea (total score 4-2).
History is waiting for Arsenal to continue writing as they are still fighting on four fronts, but the first domestic championship title since 2004 is clearly still the most desired goal.
The Carabao Cup final next month will also be the first time Arsenal has participated in a final since raising the FA Cup in 2020. And if they win, it could become a springboard for a dramatic sprint stage. However, "The Gunners" are still not allowed to be subjective.
Last week, a 4-0 victory over Leeds United ended a 3-match winless streak in the Premier League, while affirming Arsenal's bravery.
At Elland Road, Arsenal extinguished the enthusiastic atmosphere with familiar attacks. After 2 goals in the first half by Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke, they continued to show strength in aerial balls. Arsenal is the team with the most headed goals this season (10 goals, equal to Tottenham) and still maintains an impressive efficiency in set pieces.
Including Madueke's goal against Leeds, Arsenal is currently also the team with the most goals from corner kicks (14). They are only two goals away from the record for scoring from corner kicks in a Premier League season (16 goals - belonging to Oldham in the 1992-1993 season, West Brom in the 2016-2017 season and Arsenal 2 years ago).
Therefore, it would not be surprising if coach Regis Le Bris spends most of this week tightening Sunderland's dead-ball defense, before one of the most difficult away games of the season.
Sunderland just recovered from the defeat to West Ham with a 3-0 victory over Burnley, thereby extending their impressive streak at Stadium of Light. The away team almost had no shots on target, while Sunderland opened the score from an early own goal, before Habib Diarra and Chemsdine Talbi scored 2 more goals.
Ranked eighth in the standings, the championship play-off championship winner last season remained undefeated at home in the Premier League this season. Notably, this is the longest home winless streak in the early season for a newcomer since the 1977-1978 Nottingham Forest season, when they played the whole season without losing at home.
However, the away form of the "Black Cats" is completely opposite. They only have 2 wins and only 6 goals in 12 away matches. Therefore, although Arsenal once unexpectedly lost to Manchester United in their most recent home match in the Premier League, they still expect to avoid the scenario of losing 2 consecutive matches at the Emirates.
Head-to-head record
Brian Brobbey's late equalizer helped Sunderland win a 2-2 draw at home in the first leg of this season. However, the "Black Cats" have never won in 16 Premier League away games against Arsenal (drawing 5, losing 11).
In fact, Arsenal has been unbeaten in 18 home matches in the Premier League against Sunderland (13 wins, 5 draws) since the 1-2 defeat at Highbury in 1983.
Score prediction: Arsenal 1-0 Sunderland
The match between Arsenal and Sunderland takes place at 10:00 PM on February 7th (Vietnam time).
