English Premier
2026-09-12 - Sunderland vs Arsenal
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 12th September 2026 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Sunderland
The one and only time Sunderland have played in European competition came all the way back in the 1973/74 season as a second tier club that had upset the odds to the win the FA Cup the previous campaign. That changes next Thursday when The Black Cats begin the Europa League with a home game against AZ Alkmaar and knowing the fans will get to enjoy a visit to the San Siro to take on European giants AC Milan.
Balancing domestic and European commitments is the next challenge for Regis Le Bris and the Sunderland board, but they have met every previous test and passed with flying colours. Securing another year in the Premier League will be the priority when all things are considered and Sunderland have picked up 4 points early in the season.
Sunderland are not only unbeaten in 3 games in all competitions since losing late on at Ipswich Town on the opening weekend, but they have won 2 of those games. During the week they were securing passage into the League Cup Fourth Round thanks to a 1-0 win over Hull City and Sunderland are unbeaten in 4 at the Stadium of Light in all competitions and have won 3 in a row.
Habib Diarra and Romaine Mundle are both ruled out, but a strong squad is still available to the manager.
Arsenal
Twelve months ago, Liverpool were the defending English Champions but had been winning games early in the campaign without fully convincing. Mikel Arteta's team look in very different form after opening the Champions League Group Stage with a 0-1 win in Naples and Arsenal are underlying their status as one of the top contenders to win the very biggest prizes.
Three weeks of the Premier League have resulted in just two teams having perfect records- Arsenal and Manchester City. Those two are expected to be right in the mix when the title is decided next May, but all Arsenal are focusing on right now is winning every game they are playing. The Gunners have a 1-0-0 record away from home in the Premier League after beating Aston Villa 0-1 at Villa Park on Bank Holiday Monday in August.
Arsenal have won 10 of the last 11 games in all competitions with the sole exception being the defeat on Penalties to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League Final. The side have won 4 away games in a row in all competitions and 3 of those victories have been by the same 0-1 scoreline.
William Saliba is out, while both Cristhian Mosquera and Jurrien Timber are doubts.
Head to Head
Arsenal took four points from Sunderland last season and the majority were earned at the Emirates Stadium.
The fixture at the Stadium of Light ended 2-2 thanks to an injury time equaliser for the home team.
However, Arsenal have still won 5 of the last 7 visits to this part of the North East.
Prediction
They may not be the great entertainers like some of the recent Premier League Winners, but there is no doubting the effectiveness of this Arsenal team.
Mikel Arteta has made sure his team are simply not easy to score against and they have kept teams at arm's length in this very strong start to the season.
Even a talented attack like the one Chelsea have put together have struggled to create big openings against Arsenal, while the performance in Naples on Wednesday was very impressive.
Not only did Arsenal contain the hosts, but they created some glaring opportunities and could have easily won by a much greater margin than they eventually did.
Knocking Arsenal out of their stride will not be easy, but Sunderland have been very confident at the Stadium of Light over the last twelve months since returning to the Premier League.
Sunderland have won 3 straight games here in all competitions, but they are still finding the top level in the final third and that is not going to cut it against Arsenal.
The Gunners are showing they have enough firepower in the final third to win football matches and they could have scored a lot more goals in Naples than they eventually managed. Competition in the attacking areas will keep players focused and you have to believe Arsenal will do just what is needed to win this game.
Respect is there for Sunderland who scored a late equaliser to earn a point against Arsenal last season, but they did not create a lot in either Premier League fixture. The start to this season has seen Arsenal give away very little and so backing the away team to earn the three points in another relatively low-scoring game is the way to get behind them in the late Saturday kick off.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal
