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| Arsenal v Sunderland: Premier League – live! | Arsenal v Sunderland: Premier League – live! |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 7.33pm BST19:33 | |
| Was reader Peter Goldstein lobbing rocks around the streets of Paris in 1968? I only ask because he seems to be suggesting that EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG. Here, check him out: “Everyone thinks Gibbs is better than Monreal in attack but worse in defence. In fact, it’s the opposite. Gibbs gets forward all the time, but there’s very little end product. Monreal doesn’t get forward much, but good things tend to happen. Monreal is ordinary in defence, although he’s getting better. Gibbs’ pace makes a big difference there.” | |
| 7.30pm BST19:30 | |
| “Coquelin breaks up play but doesn’t help Arsenal break teams down against a parked bus,” parks Peter Nelson, suggesting Wenger doesn’t expect Sunderland to go crazy attacking when a point will suffice. “Jack Wilshere should help,” reasons Peter. | |
| 7.18pm BST19:18 | |
| On my way to my work station tonight, I a horde of Sunderland fans spilling out of a London pub and into the May sunshine with pints in their hands and fun on their mind It was a beautiful sight, vibrant English cultural heritage in full bloom. And if those Sunderland fans decide to savour it a little longer than most, then who could blame them? Their team, after all, have scored only once in the opening 15 minutes of Premier League games this season, less than any other side. So have another drink, brothers and sisters, and cherish these days. | |
| 7.10pm BST19:10 | |
| As you can see from the line-ups below, Arsenal will not be fielding an unchanged side for the seventh time in a row: Gibbs and Wilshere are starting instead of Monreal and Coquelin. Gibbs is better than Monreal in my book, at least going forward, but it’ll be interesting to see how effective Wilshere is in place of Coquelin, especially as Cattermole is likely to set about him with gusto. I’m also looking forward to see Sunderland’s full-backs, as I’ve not watched them regularly but have the sense that Jones and Van Aanholt are a rollicking good pairing when in the mood. Not sure about that O’Shea/Coates axis in the middle, though: If giroud can shake himself out of the fug that he’s been in for the last few weeks, he could get back on the scoring trail. | |
| 6.58pm BST18:58 | 6.58pm BST18:58 |
| Preamble: | Preamble: |
| Hello and welcome to coverage of this meeting of extremes: Arsenal need a point to all but ensure participation in the group stages of next season’s Champions League, while Sunderland need a point to avoid having to go into the last weekend of this season fretting about being relegated instead of Newcastle or Hull. If Sunderland were to go down, it would be the fourth time they’ll have suffered that pain since Arsene Wenger arrived to preside over a period of unprecedented consistency at Arsenal. The Londoners have become a kind of ambient presence in the upper echelons of football while Sunderland have rocked entertainingly twixt highs and lows, with 11 managers, including Roy Keane (POW!), Paolo Di Canio (BAM!) and Gus Poyet (SIGH) hinting at greatness before imploding or petering out. Dick Advocaat seems to have hammered some sense into the latest horde of candystriped funsters, so can they put on a show tonight at the Emirates? Can that defence really make Arsenal endure a third consecutive home shut out? We’ll find out shortly. | Hello and welcome to coverage of this meeting of extremes: Arsenal need a point to all but ensure participation in the group stages of next season’s Champions League, while Sunderland need a point to avoid having to go into the last weekend of this season fretting about being relegated instead of Newcastle or Hull. If Sunderland were to go down, it would be the fourth time they’ll have suffered that pain since Arsene Wenger arrived to preside over a period of unprecedented consistency at Arsenal. The Londoners have become a kind of ambient presence in the upper echelons of football while Sunderland have rocked entertainingly twixt highs and lows, with 11 managers, including Roy Keane (POW!), Paolo Di Canio (BAM!) and Gus Poyet (SIGH) hinting at greatness before imploding or petering out. Dick Advocaat seems to have hammered some sense into the latest horde of candystriped funsters, so can they put on a show tonight at the Emirates? Can that defence really make Arsenal endure a third consecutive home shut out? We’ll find out shortly. |
| Updated at 7.04pm BST | Updated at 7.04pm BST |
| 6.45pm BST18:45 | 6.45pm BST18:45 |
| Teams: | Teams: |
| Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Ramsey, Cazorla, Wilshere, Ozil, Alexis, Giroud | Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Ramsey, Cazorla, Wilshere, Ozil, Alexis, Giroud |
| Subs: To follow | Subs: To follow |
| Sunderland: Pantilimon, Jones, van Aanholt, O’Shea, Coates, Cattermole, Larsson, Johnson, Graham, Defoe, Wickham. | Sunderland: Pantilimon, Jones, van Aanholt, O’Shea, Coates, Cattermole, Larsson, Johnson, Graham, Defoe, Wickham. |
| Subs: To follow | Subs: To follow |
| Updated at 6.59pm BST | Updated at 6.59pm BST |