Arteta delivers team news update ahead of Sunderland trip

Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Arsenal have no new injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s trip to Sunderland.

Ben White was spotted limping towards the team bus after Wednesday’s win over Napoli, prompting suggestions that he might have picked up a knock. The manager, however, allayed those fears, revealing on Friday that he’s “fine.”

In the absence of Jurrien Timber and Cristhian Mosquera, White has shouldered the responsibility at right-back since the start of the season. With the Dutchman making the trip to Italy and the Spaniard recovering from a muscular problem, he could soon face stiffer competition for minutes.

“He is doing really well,” Arteta said of Mosquera. “Let’s see if he can get this game or the next one.”

You would certainly expect Arteta to shuffle his pack for next week’s Carabao Cup tie at Ipswich, especially with another difficult away game at Brighton on the horizon. Arsenal’s only other absentee is William Saliba.

Sunderland, meanwhile, will be without two players on Saturday. Romaine Mundle has a knee injury, while Mouhamadou Habib Diarra is nursing a thigh problem.

Despite Arsenal’s impressive start to the campaign, Black Cats manager Regis Le Bris is confident his side can give a good account of themselves. The same fixture last season produced an entertaining 2-2 draw, with Sunderland equalising right at the death.

“It is not possible to be perfect but we have to stay true to our ideas,” he told his pre-game press conference.

“When you face a really strong opponent you can be a bit shy. The best learning from last season was that if we are ourselves – no regret. They will find solutions but we are getting better with flexibility and how we adapt when something unexpected happens.

“It will be challenging but I am very excited to experience this situation again.”

He also believes the home crowd will play its part on Saturday night.

“It’s a powerful driver,” he explained. “It starts from us – the way we play and how we impose our ideas. If we are proactive they are behind us.

“They back us and they feed the energy for the press, second balls, counter-attacks and so on. The connection with the fans helps us a lot.”

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