Sunderland v Arsenal

Before every Arsenal fixture, we’ll bring you a Scouting Report on the Gunners’ next opponents.

Arsène Wenger's side travel to Sunderland in the Premier League on Sunday. To find out more, we asked tactical expert Michael Cox.

Michael Cox

Sam Allardyce is renowned for his love of a big, strong target man up front – but at Sunderland he’s been forced to embrace a different style of football. Jermain Defoe and Fabio Borini, hardly the most physically imposing players, are his two regular forwards, and therefore the Black Cats are a counter-attacking side rather than a long-ball side.

Allardyce continues to have little regard for possession – Sunderland won 3-0 at Norwich last weekend with just 35 per cent of the ball, so he’s unlikely to change his ways this weekend.

He has named the same starting XI for the last three matches. Defoe plays as the central striker, running the channels tirelessly, with Borini flying up and down the right flank in a 4-3-3. On the opposite side, Wahbi Khazri drifts inside more, and is primarily in the side for his excellent, whipped set-piece deliveries.

Sunderland’s midfield trio isn’t blessed with great creativity. Lee Cattermole and Yann M’Vila are generally considered defensive midfielders, but Allardyce gives them more advanced roles – with the even more defensive German Jan Kirchhoff at the base of the triangle, shielding the defence. Expect plenty of hard tackles from all three.

The solidity of the midfield allows the two full-backs license to attack. Right-sided DeAndre Yedlin is astonishingly quick, although remains very raw in a defensive sense. He tends to knock hopeful forward balls into the channel, for Defoe and Borini to chase. Left-sided Patrick van Aanholt is more gifted technically, a good crosser, and has provided a goal threat this season.

Centre-back duo Lamine Kone and Younes Kaboul are best when defending on the edge of the box. Both are extremely good in the air, but less comfortable high up the pitch – Kaboul can be dragged out of the backline far too easily. Amazingly, they completed just seven passes combined in the weekend victory over Norwich, but were extremely dominant aerially, and protected former Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone commendably.