Myles Lewis-Skelly disagreement and Ben White problem - Arsenal line-ups for Sunderland clash

Mikel Arteta could make a few changes to the starting lineup ahead of Arsenal's clash against Sunderland.

Mikel Arteta has the luxury of making several changes to the Arsenal starting lineup ahead of this weekend's clash against Sunderland. The Gunners will look to extend their perfect start to the new Premier League season when they face Regis Le Bris' side at the Stadium of Light on Saturday night.

Last term, the Black Cats held Arsenal to a draw in Tyne and Wear, with Brian Brobbey scoring an equaliser in the dying embers of stoppage time. Despite not having lost to Sunderland across all competitions since February 2012, the Gunners boss suggested the fixture could be a banana skin.

"Last year, we dropped points there, especially in the last minutes," said Arteta. "We learned a lot from that game, from the previous one. Tomorrow, again, we will discuss many things that we need to be aware of and where we want to take the game, what the qualities are and try to nullify them."

On how he plans to better prepare Arsenal for the trip up north, Arteta said: "Plenty of things to improve, to be alert of, and some others that we have to continue to do because we did some great things that night, and that's the things that we'll discuss to prepare the game."

FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

Tom Canton

It has been tricky to think of making any changes to the team after winning all three games at the start of the season. But for this one, I would bring Bruno Guimaraes in for a bit of Tyne and Wear flair to the proceedings.

Elsewhere, though the others remain unchanged from Chelsea, all eyes will be on the midfield maestro Martin Odegaard again. Kai Havertz, too, just looks imperious, and there are plenty of reasons to be excited.

I am not excited, however, for Ben White to start another game. Not because of any concerns over quality, quite the opposite, instead about having to put more minutes into a player who you feel is a moment away from a spell on the sidelines when the club cannot afford to lose another defender.

Tom's starting lineup: Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Guimaraes, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Tzolis.

Jake Stokes

I expect Mikel Arteta to make four changes to the Arsenal starting lineup for this weekend's clash against Sunderland. Although I'm sure the Gunners boss would love to field the strongest possible side at the Stadium of Light on Saturday night, I think he'll recognise the value in rotating his squad, with so many games in the calendar this season.

It goes without saying that David Raya should remain between the sticks. Until at least one of William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera, and Jurrien Timber is ready to start a game, let alone make the matchday squad, Arteta has his hands tied, so Riccardo Calafiori will likely be the only change at the back.

In the middle of the park, the Arsenal gaffer will probably reintroduce Myles Lewis-Skelly alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. The duo, in particular, could do with a rest soon, but I just can't see Arteta dropping either of them at this stage of the season.

Up top, Christos Tzolis and Kai Havertz will likely return. Then, on the right, I think Bukayo Saka will keep his place. Like White and even Odegaard, to an extent, having nursed plenty of issues last term, the Hale End graduate needs to be carefully managed this season.

So, the Gunners boss needs to be ready to make use of the wealth of options at his disposal...

Jake's starting lineup: David Raya; Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ezri Konsa, Ben White; Myles Lewis-Skelly, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard; Christos Tzolis, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka.