Saturday 7th February 2026
Arsenal v Sunderland – Premier League
Emirates Stadium Kick-Off: 15:00
Tickets & Match Coverage
Tickets: Tickets are sold out.
TV/Stream: Full live match coverage is unavailable.
Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online)
Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time whistle at www.RokerReport.sbnation.com!
The build-up…
Well, we only went and did it again on Monday. We’ve lost six times this season – all away from home – and on each occasion we’ve followed
that up with a win at the Stadium of Light. This means half of our 36-point total so far has come from bouncing back from a defeat on our travels.
What does the pattern look like after we played that game? – I hear you ask – well, it’s quite interesting because of those previous five wins that prove our bouncebackability (one for the older people maybe…), only one of those wins was followed by a defeat, which was our last road trip at West Ham.
There were three draws in there (Brighton, Liverpool & Palace), but the other was a victory on the road – our last one to be precise. We were beaten at Old Trafford, and followed it up with a win at Wolves, then went to Stamford Bridge and took all three points. So there is hope after all today.
There has been some focus on the away form, but the mix of opponents is interesting. You could argue that our last almost complete performance away from home came at Liverpool, and since then, we’ve maybe had a little expectation on us to go and attack and take all three points. But in trips to Liverpool and Chelsea, this wasn’t the case – so it will be interesting to see what Le Bris has up his sleeve today.
Well, it doesn’t get much harder than our fixture this weekend as we travel to Premier League leaders Arsenal.
They are on a mission to claim their first league title since 2004, having finished runners-up for the previous three seasons. They have also won all eight games in the Champions League on their way to the last sixteen and reached the League Cup final after navigating a tricky semi-final second leg against Chelsea in midweek, plus they are due to take on Wigan Athletic at home in the fourth round of the FA Cup, so it could be a busy few months ahead.
If that wasn’t all, by the way, they’ve also conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League and only Citeh have scored more, but despite all of that, you would think it was all going wrong at the Emirates if you listen too carefully to a lot of broadcasters and social media at the moment.
Paul Scholes was saying they would end up being the most boring side to have ever won the Premier League, but would Arteta or the fans care? I very much doubt it. But they have to go and do it now, because if they don’t and finish second for a fourth time in a row, it will start to get a little silly.
The betting…
The bookies have the Lads at 12/1 to win the game, while Arsenal are priced at 2/9, and the draw is 5/1.
Head to head… at Arsenal
(All competitions)
- Sunderland wins: 17
- Draws: 18
- Arsenal wins: 43
- Sunderland goals: 79
- Arsenal goals: 156
Last time we met… at the Emirates Stadium
Tuesday 21st December 2021
League Cup – Fifth Round
Emirates Stadium
Arsenal 5-1 Sunderland
[Nketiah 17’, 49’, 58’, Pepe 27’, Patino 90’ – Broadhead 31’]
Sunderland: Burge, Winchester, Wright, Flanagan, Doyle, Gooch (Evans), Neil, Embleton (O’Brien), Pritchard, Broadhead (Hume), Stewart (Kimpioka) Substitutes not used: Patterson, Cirkin, Xhemajli, Younger, Dunne
Arsenal: Leno, Soares, Tavares, Elneny, White (Gabriel), Holding, Pepe, Odegaard (Martinelli), Nketiah, Smith-Rowe (Patino), Balogun (Xhaka) Substitutes not used: Ramsdale, Tierney, Partey, Saka, Lacazette
Attendance: 59,027
Prediction…
Arsenal 2-0 Sunderland
I reckon the lads will put in a good shift – but they’re pretty good at the moment.
