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The unofficial Granit Xhaka derby will be held at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon, when Sunderland and Arsenal square off in a Premier League top-four battle.
The high-flying hosts find themselves just seven points and three places worse off than Mikel Arteta’s men, who must attempt something no other team has managed so far this season – beat the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light in the Premier League.
Match preview
Arsenal’s Champions League collision with Slavia Prague followed the pre-game script to a tee – a Gunners win, a Gunners clean sheet and a heroic number nine display from emergency centre-forward Mikel Merino, who filled Viktor Gyokeres’s boots expertly.
Thanks to the Spaniard’s brace, Bukayo Saka’s penalty and an overturned Slavia spot kick, Arsenal achieved something no English top-flight side had achieved for a staggering 105 years with that 3-0 success – win eight successive games in all competitions without conceding a single goal.
The seventh result in that sequence was another routine away-day triumph – a 2-0 beating of Burnley at Turf Moor that saw Arsenal maintain their six-point advantage over Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League standings, where they will remain throughout the international break.
Last conceding to Newcastle United all the way back in September, Arsenal are also bidding to record five straight Premier League wins with clean sheets for the first time in their history, last managing that feat in the top flight during the George Graham days of 1987.
The Gunners legend was famed for his teams’ defensive excellence and may therefore enjoy this next statistic more than anyone else – Arsenal have only faced an average of 1.9 shots on target per game in the 2025-26 Premier League, the lowest-ever figure on record in the competition.
While Arsenal have to go back several weeks for the last time they were breached, Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs picked the ball out of his own net on Monday night, but Regis Le Bris’s side can still proudly boast their unbeaten Premier League home record for the season.
Iliman Ndiaye’s fourth goal of the season put that streak in jeopardy, but the wily Xhaka struck his first Premier League effort for the Black Cats – albeit with the aid of a deflection – to steal a hard-earned point for the newly-promoted party crashers in a 1-1 draw.
Out-performing the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Newcastle United so far this season, Sunderland reside in the fourth and final Champions League spot and will rise into the podium places with a win – at least one of Manchester City and Liverpool will drop points in Sunday’s blockbuster.
Only Crystal Palace, Brighton & Hove Albion, Bournemouth and Arsenal themselves are still yet to lose at home in the 2025-26 Premier League season, in which the hosts have also scored in each of their five games, suggesting that a usually impenetrable Arsenal defence will not have it all their own way.
The Stadium of Light was also the location of Sunderland’s most recent league win over Arsenal, but that 1-0 success came all the way back in 2009 – the Gunners have since gone unbeaten in 15 straight top-flight clashes with Xhaka’s employers.
Sunderland Premier League form:
Arsenal Premier League form:
Arsenal form (all competitions)
In customary Arsenal fashion, Gyokeres’s best 45 minutes of the season against Burnley preceded a cruel muscular injury for the Sweden striker, who will miss this game but is looking good for a return for the North London derby on November 23.
However, one summer signing expected back for Saturday is Martin Zubimendi, who picked up a knock at Turf Moor but returned to training prior to the Slavia victory, which he was suspended for anyway.
Kepa Arrizabalaga (knock) is more of a doubt but would have only made the bench at best, while Gabriel Martinelli (muscle), Noni Madueke (knee), Kai Havertz (knee), Gabriel Jesus (knee) and Martin Odegaard (knee) will play no part in this fixture.
On Sunderland’s end, defender Omar Alderete was due to return from a concussion in time to face Everton, but the South American was absent due to a “residual symptom” and is also unavailable for the visit of the Gunners.
The Black Cats will also be missing a quintet of other stricken players in Aji Alese (shoulder), Dennis Cirkin (wrist), Romaine Mundle (thigh), Leo Fuhr Hjelde (Achilles) and Habib Diarra (groin), but Le Bris has reported no fresh concerns from Monday night.
Reuniting with the club he made 225 Premier League appearances for, Xhaka aims to score in back-to-back games in the competition for the first time since his final year with Arsenal, doing so against Crystal Palace and Leeds United in 2023.
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Roefs; Hume, Mukiele, Ballard, Geertruida, Reinildo; Xhaka, Sadiki; Traore, Isidor, Le Fee
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Eze, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Merino, Trossard
