Ravaged by injuries, Arsenal need to find the wherewithal to stop the crumble when they play Sunderland at the Emirates in an English Premier League match on Saturday.
The inevitable injury crisis has come for Arsenal, with Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla joining an already huge list following the 1-1 draw against Norwich City last weekend. Laurent Koscielny also limped off in that game, but the Frenchman is expected to recover in time to play his part against Sam Allardyce's Sunderland on Saturday.
Another player who could return is Theo Walcott, the forward who has been sorely missed since hobbling off with a calf injury in the Capital One Cup match against Sheffield Wednesday in late October.
However, it is still a long injury list that Arsene Wenger has to deal with, particularly in central midfield, with only Mathieu Flamini and Aaron Ramsey available for the manager at the moment. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, another player who has only just returned from a spell out, and Calum Chambers are also options in that position, but Wenger will hope Flamini and Ramsey stay fit during this difficult period.
Wenger believes Ramsey has an opportunity to make the central position his own again, having lost the place to Cazorla, who will miss the next three months, at least.
"It is a possibility [for Ramsey], yes," Wenger said. "For him it is a good opportunity if he plays there, that is where he prefers to play."
Wenger is expecting another difficult match, with Sunderland, like West Brom and Norwich – matches from which Arsenal picked up just a point combined -- before them, expected to stay solid and compact at the back, while looking to hit their opponents on the counter.
"It is very difficult, and we have just seen that at Norwich and West Brom, where we had about 70 per cent possession in the two games," Wenger added. "In the two games together we had four shots against us and conceded three goals, so that shows it is difficult.
"We face a team on Saturday that has recently taken points, is well organised and has gone to a very strong defensive system under Sam Allardyce. They have gained some confidence in their system so we expect a tough game.
"We have had two very physical, very difficult away games and we were a bit unlucky. The comfort to play at home is important."
Sunderland are playing for their Premier League lives, and having picked up a couple of impressive results under Allardyce, a manager who has got under Wenger's skin plenty of times in the past, the Black Cats will want to keep the momentum and pick up a morale-boosting win over Arsenal.
Where to Watch Live
The EPL match between Arsenal and Sunderland is scheduled for a 3 pm local time (8.30 pm IST, 10 am ET) start. Star Sports HD4 will show the match live in India, while the online live streaming options are on Hotstar and Starsports.com.
There will be no live TV coverage for viewers in the UK. Australia viewers can watch the EPL game live on Fox Sports, while the online live streaming options are on Fox Sports On Demand and Foxtel Play.
Watch the EPL game live in the US on NBC Sports Network, with the live stream option on NBC Sports Live Extra. Audience in Canada can watch the action live on Sportsnet and Sportsnet World Online.
Audience in the Spain, Philippines, Indonesia, Middle East and North Africa will be able to watch Arsenal vs Sunderland live on Bein Sports Arabia, with the live streaming option on Bein Sports Connect.
103 mio will broadcast the match live in Singapore, while viewers in Thailand can watch Sunderland play Arsenal live on CTH Cable. LeTV is the place to be to watch the match live in Hong Kong and China, while viewers in China can also catch Arsenal vs Sunderland live on PPTV Sports.
