Arsenal vs Sunderland: Injury crisis coupled with Sam Allardyce's stubborn side could spell draw for Gunners
FANS' VIEW: Supporters of the sides involved at the Emirates this weekend offer their thoughts
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Your support makes all the difference.Ahead of the Premier League meeting between Arsenal and Sunderland this weekend, we caught up with a couple of fans for their take on the match...
Arsenal fan - Lewis Potton
Arsenal fans go into Saturday's game against Sunderland with trepidation because of the injury crisis continuing to undermine our title challenge. With Francis Coquelin, Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla all joining a lengthy injury list this week, it's vital that the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain make a real impact on their return to the team.
Sunderland have improved massively under Sam Allardyce, and I'm expecting them to offer stern resistance at the Emirates. I was there for this fixture at the end of last season and I've seen first hand how well Sunderland can defend when they put their collective minds to it.
With star man Sanchez sidelined, it has never been more important for Mesut Ozil to put in a good performance. On his day he can unlock even the strongest defence, and he'll need to be on form if the likes of Ramsey, Joel Campbell and Olivier Giroud are going to bury Sunderland. My head says it'll be a disappointing draw, but my heart says we'll steal it 1-0.
Sunderland fan - Joe Cooper
Sam Allardyce may have only have had a short period of time on Wearside, but it's fair to say that his methods already seem to have rejuvenated Sunderland. Barring a 6-2 thrashing away at in-form Everton, we've looked far more solid than previously and have only conceded once since that defeat.
Consecutive wins against Crystal Palace and Stoke have fans believing we can get to the final eight games of the season without having to accrue 20 points to stay up.
But up next is an away trip to the Emirates - a daunting task despite the Gunners' well publicised injury list.
Not many expect a win, but if we manage to pull of a result it will have officially taken Big Sam less than two months to put a huge smile back on the faces of those who were starting to become disillusioned with life at the Stadium of Light. I'm still predicting a 2-0 win for the Gunners, though.
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