Sunderland v Arsenal: Preview, expected line-ups, stats

Premier League, Round 4

Sunderland SUN

12/09/2026 20:00

Arsenal ARS

Stadium of Light

Sunderland v Arsenal Premier League preview

The Stadium of Light hosts the Granit Xhaka derby on Saturday evening as Sunderland welcome Premier League champions Arsenal to Wearside.

The Black Cats edged past Hull City 1-0 in the EFL Cup on Tuesday, while Arsenal made it five wins from five in all competitions by beating Napoli 1-0 in the Champions League.

Arsenal have now gone five for five in all competitions following Wednesday’s narrow success against Napoli, while conceding just one goal in each of their competitive fixtures so far.

Sunderland have given their own supporters plenty of encouragement since returning to the Premier League.

The Black Cats lost their opening game 2-1 at Ipswich Town but responded with a 1-0 home victory over Fulham before drawing 1-1 with Brentford.

Enzo Le Fee’s late penalty secured a point against the Bees, while Chemsdine Talbi’s second-half goal was enough to see off Hull in the EFL Cup.

That extended Regis Le Bris’s side’s unbeaten run to three matches in all competitions, with Sunderland having also conceded just one goal in each of their last three games.

Sunderland v Arsenal Premier League team news

Arsenal remain without Cristhian Mosquera and Jurrien Timber, who are both doubts with muscle and groin problems respectively.

William Saliba is also still sidelined with a back injury, but Arteta has no fresh concerns following the Champions League trip to Naples.

Sunderland have no new major injury concerns following their midweek cup success.

Habib Diarra is expected to remain out for six to eight weeks after suffering a thigh injury against Fulham, while Romaine Mundle could miss the rest of 2026 following knee surgery.

Malick Fofana and Nilson Angulo are expected to remain ahead of Mundle in the wide positions, while Fofana could make his full Premier League debut after playing 79 minutes against Hull.

Sunderland v Arsenal predicted line ups

Sunderland: Roefs; Mukiele, Ballard, Danso, Reinildo; Xhaka, Sadiki; Angulo, Le Fee, Fofana; Brobbey

Arsenal: Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Lewis-Skelly, Rice; Saka, Odegaard, Tzolis; Havertz

Sunderland v Arsenal stats, Premier League form

• Sunderland have won one of their last 29 Premier League meetings with Arsenal (D10 L18) and are winless in 17 (D6 L11) since a 1-0 home victory in November 2009 through Darren Bent’s goal
• At home against Arsenal in the league, Sunderland have one win in their last 14 matches (D5 L8), suffering defeats in five of their last seven (D2), although this exact fixture finished 2-2 last season
• All four of the Black Cats’ home wins against reigning Premier League champions have been against different teams (Man Utd 1996/97, Man City 2012/13, Chelsea 2015/16, Leicester 2016/17)
• They have won their last two Premier League home games – against London sides Chelsea and Fulham – and last prevailed in three in a row at the Stadium of Light in January/February 2012, all against City sides (Manchester, Swansea, Norwich)
• Granit Xhaka leads all Sunderland players in the Premier League this season for touches (243) and chances created (7)
• The playmaker is also top among the squad for passes played into the box (26), fouls won (8) and successful passes (163)
• This is the second Premier League campaign in which Arsenal have faced Sunderland as reigning champions, previously beating them 3-1 at home and 4-0 away in 2002/03.
• Arsenal are looking to win each of their first four games in a top-flight season for the sixth time in their history
• They proceeded to win the league the first three times they did so (1930/31, 1947/48, 2003/04) and have finished second after the last two occasions (2004/05, 2022/23)
• The Gunners have the lowest expected goals total against of any side in the Premier League this season (0.93), while only Sunderland (5) have faced fewer shots on target than them (6)
• Kai Havertz has covered more distance than any other striker in the Premier League this season (32.9 km), with only Gonzalo Garcia (52) making more sprints among forwards than the German (50)
• Only Chelsea’s Morgan Rogers (9) has created more chances in open play than Arsenal’s Christos Tzolis (8) in the Premier League this season, with the Greece winger providing his first assist of the season last time out against Chelsea

Where to watch Sunderland v Arsenal: TV channel, live online streams

Kick-off on Saturday is at 20:00 BST (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT). Live TV coverage in the UK is on TNT Sports 1.

Streaming is available on a vast range of devices through the HBO Max app. Subscriptions start at £30.99 a month.

Here’s the full list of Premier League international broadcasters.

Sunderland v Arsenal Premier League prediction

Sunderland have shown plenty of defensive resilience since returning to the Premier League and will be encouraged by their recent unbeaten run.

However, Arsenal have too much quality in attack and Arteta’s squad depth should allow him to rotate without significantly weakening his side.

Match Prediction

Sunderland

1 – 3

Arsenal

Premier League table

Premier League 2026

England

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 3
1	Manchester City	3	3	0	0	7	2	5	9	W W W
2	Arsenal	3	3	0	0	6	1	5	9	W W W
3	Hull City	3	2	1	0	3	0	3	7	D W W
4	Chelsea	3	2	0	1	8	7	1	6	L W W
5	Brentford	3	1	2	0	5	2	3	5	D D W
6	Liverpool	3	1	2	0	6	4	2	5	W D D
7	Newcastle	3	1	2	0	6	4	2	5	D W D
8	Everton	3	1	2	0	5	3	2	5	D D W
9	Leeds	3	1	2	0	3	2	1	5	D D W
10	Brighton	3	1	1	1	8	5	3	4	D L W
11	Manchester United	3	1	1	1	7	6	1	4	D W L
12	Sunderland	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4	D W L
13	Crystal Palace	3	1	0	2	4	8	-4	3	W L L
14	Ipswich	3	1	0	2	4	8	-4	3	L L W
15	Bournemouth	3	0	2	1	4	5	-1	2	D D L
16	Nottingham Forest	3	0	2	1	2	3	-1	2	D D L
17	Aston Villa	3	0	1	2	0	5	-5	1	D L L
18	Tottenham	3	0	1	2	0	5	-5	1	D L L
19	Fulham	3	0	0	3	4	7	-3	0	L L L
20	Coventry	3	0	0	3	0	5	-5	0	L L L

• Position 1, 2, 3, 4 : Promotion – Champions League (League phase)
• Position 5 : Promotion – Europa League (League phase)
• Position 18, 19, 20 : Relegation – Championship