Welbeck, Coquelin and Gabriel back for Arsenal at Sunderland
As well as Arsene Wenger wanting his Arsenal players to focus on the job at hand of winning all of our remaining Premier League games and securing a top three finish, he himself has to make sure that they take each game as it comes. And his own task is setting the Gunners up with the best possible chance of beating the team in front of us.
That is why, I think, the Frenchman brought back Olivier Giroud and Per Mertesacker for the midweek game against West Brom. But the away game against a Sunderland desperate for all three points to get them out of the relegation is a different matter.
I think we can expect the Black Cats to be a lot more attack minded than the Baggies were, which will leave more space for the pace and movement of Welbeck to thrive. And I worry about the lack of pace and mobility of Mertesacker being up against the quick feet and speed of Jermain Defoe, so this looks more like a game for Gabriel to me.
I would also like to see the pairing of Coquelin and Elneny back in the middle to cope with the energy and fighting qualities of a Sam Allardyce side. Do you agree with these Arsenal changes?
