Mesut Ozil is set to make his debut in tomorrow afternoon’ match at the Stadium of Light as the Gunners take on struggling Sunderland.
A convincing win for Arsene Wenger’s men, who have taken maximum points in their last six away league fixtures, could see them take top spot in the Premier League.
Yaya Sanogo has a back injury, and will miss the trip to the North East though Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere are both available following their midweek excursions with England.
Tomas Rosicky, Lukas Podolski, Abou Diaby, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mikel Arteta are all also unavailable, while Thomas Vermaelen could feature after missing the opening of the season with a back injury. bwin have made Arsenal slim favourites.
Meanwhile, Nicklas Bendtner is currently competing in an intensive fitness regime as he aims to rebuild his Arsenal career, the Mail Online understands.
The forward, who spend much of the last two seasons away from the Emirates on loan, was expected to secure a permanent move away from Arsenal during the summer.
However, the Denmark international has remained in North London and, due to the clubs lack of numbers in his position, has a chance of making a return to the first team, should he regain fitness.