Brian Brobbey is going to have quite a thankless assignment on Saturday as he acts as Sunderland's lone striker against an Arsenal side that will control the game and dominate the ball.

Brobbey is naturally quite a physical striker so he won't shy away from getting into a battle with Gabriel and Konsa. Brobbey managed to cause the Arsenal backline plenty of problems in this fixture last season, coming off the bench to score but not before committing two fouls inside just 27 minutes of action.

I'm always keen to back strikers for fouls and cards when I know that they will spend a lot of time chasing down lost causes and acting as the only outlet for their side. It's the perfect environment for strikers to get frustrated and I think we'll see that with Brobbey here.

Brobbey is yet to be cautioned this season, but did collect six yellow cards across 22 starts in the Premier League last season.

Kai Havertz has made a flying start to the season and can register another goal involvement when Arsenal face Sunderland on Saturday night.

The German forward ended last season strongly and has now either scored or assisted in 8 of his last 11 appearances for Arsenal across all competitions.

He carried that form into the World Cup this summer, registering a goal involvement in three of his four appearances for Germany.

Havertz then struck against Manchester City in the Community Shield before scoring in two of the Gunners’ opening three Premier League games, including last weekend’s victory over Chelsea. 

Sunderland have started the season relatively strongly, but conceding twice at Ipswich and once at Brentford suggests Havertz can make his mark at the Stadium of Light.

Noah Sadiki looks terrific value to attempt at least 1 shot against Arsenal on Saturday night.

Sadiki is an all-action box-to-box midfielder who has shown a willingness to let fly during the early stages of the season. 

Sadiki has already attempted 5 shots across Sunderland’s opening 3 Premier League matches, including 3 away at Brentford last weekend.

His willingness to get shots away was also evident at the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, where he registered a minimum of 1 shot in three of his four appearances for DR Congo.

Arsenal are notoriously difficult to break down, so Sunderland’s midfielders may be forced to take aim from distance at the Stadium of Light. 

What’s more, Sadiki is generally afforded more licence to get forward than Granit Xhaka, making him worth backing to fire at least one shot on Saturday night.

Sunderland have the capacity to frustrate Arsenal on Saturday night, so I’m backing the Gunners to earn at least six corners at the Stadium of Light.

Regis Le Bris’ side will be more than happy to sit deep and soak up pressure, which should allow Arsenal to spend long spells on the front foot and force plenty of flag kicks.

The Gunners were among the Premier League’s strongest corners performers last season and have averaged 5.67 corners per game across their opening 3 league matches this term. 

Mikel Arteta’s side racked up 6 corners in Wednesday night’s win over Napoli, a game that required plenty of patience, and they may need to bide their time once again at the Stadium of Light. 

As for Sunderland, they have lost the corner count in each of their last two top-flight assignments, doing so away at Brentford and at home to a struggling Fulham side.

The Black Cats were also forced to defend 12 corners at home to Hull in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night, so Arsenal look well placed to rack up 6+ here.

Although Arsenal are renowned for giving very little away defensively, I’m going against the grain by backing both teams to score at the Stadium of Light on Saturday night. 

The Gunners were worthy winners against Chelsea last weekend, but they failed to keep a clean sheet and needed a fine late save from David Raya to deny the Blues an equaliser. 

What’s more, Sunderland have scored in all four of their matches across all competitions this term, with both teams finding the net in two of their opening three Premier League fixtures.

This selection also landed in four of Sunderland’s final six league games last season, so it has become something of a recurring theme.

It is also worth noting that these two teams played out a pulsating 2-2 draw at this venue last season.

On top of all that, Arsenal face a quick turnaround after Wednesday night’s Champions League trip to Napoli, and that could leave them more vulnerable than usual.

Kai Havertz has started the season in fine form and looks well placed to register at least one shot on target against Sunderland on Saturday night.

His impressive scoring run dates back to the end of last season, when he netted a vital goal against Burnley in Arsenal’s final Premier League home game before striking again against PSG in the Champions League final.

Havertz maintained that momentum at the World Cup, scoring 3 goals in 4 appearances for Germany.

He then opened his account for the new campaign against Manchester City in the Community Shield before scoring in two of Arsenal’s opening three Premier League matches, including last weekend’s victory over Chelsea.

The German has now worked the goalkeeper in all 4 of his domestic outings this term, doing so twice against Chelsea last weekend.

With Sunderland expected to sit deep and invite pressure, Havertz should have ample opportunity to deliver another on-target effort.

Granit Xhaka is rarely far from the thick of the action, and I’m backing the Sunderland captain to be fouled at least once when he faces his former club on Saturday night. 

Xhaka has drawn an average of 2.67 fouls per game across Sunderland’s opening three league matches, with the midfielder winning at least one free-kick in every outing.

That continues a strong trend from last season, when he averaged 1.27 fouls drawn per game in the Premier League.

The Swiss ace was also fouled 12 times across his six appearances at the World Cup.

Xhaka’s likely encounters with Arsenal midfield duo Declan Rice and Myles Lewis-Skelly only strengthen the case, with the pair committing 9 fouls between them across the Gunners’ opening three league games.

Bukayo Saka has long been a player who comes in for plenty of rough treatment, and this season has been no different.

The Arsenal ace has already drawn 10 fouls across the opening 3 Premier League matchdays, placing him among the division’s most fouled players.

Saka was also regularly targeted by opponents last season, drawing an average of 2.18 fouls per game in the Premier League.

He was also fouled in six of his seven appearances for England at the World Cup despite being used sparingly from the start.

What’s more, Saka drew 3 fouls in last season’s corresponding fixture at the Stadium of Light.

Reinildo Mandava is likely to be handed the difficult task of keeping Saka quiet on Saturday night, further strengthening the case for this selection.

Having already backed Bukayo Saka to be fouled at least twice, I’m also siding with his likely direct opponent, Reinildo Mandava, to commit at least one foul on Saturday night. 

The Sunderland left-back is no stranger to overstepping the mark, and he could be in for a difficult evening if tasked with trying to stop Saka. 

That tendency has already been evident this season, with Mandava committing 5 fouls across his opening 3 Premier League appearances after averaging 1.46 per game last term. 

He also committed a whopping 5 fouls when facing Arsenal at the Emirates last season, picking up a yellow card in the process.

With Saka so difficult to contain, Mandava looks a prime candidate to fall foul of the referee at least once. 

Brian Brobbey is a player I always like to target in the foul markets, and the Sunderland forward looks worth backing to be penalised at least once on Saturday night. 

The Dutchman likes to throw his weight around when leading the line, which often lands him on the wrong side of the referee.

Brobbey has committed a foul in each of his three Premier League appearances this season, conceding 4 in total across those matches.

He was also regularly on the referee’s radar last term, averaging 1.53 fouls per game in the Premier League.

Brobbey’s likely direct battle with Gabriel Magalhaes provides further encouragement, as the Arsenal defender has drawn 2 fouls across his three top-flight appearances this season.

Ezri Konsa is another potential opponent for Brobbey at the heart of Arsenal’s defence, with the former Aston Villa man drawing an impressive 1.30 fouls per game in the Premier League last term.