Sunderland’s hopes rest on Dan Ballard in battle with ‘scary’ Arsenal star
Dan Ballard will face his toughest test of the season when Arsenal arrive at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
Sunderland play Arsenal in the Premier League on 8 November as Regis Le Bris looks to continue the Black Cats’ fine start to the season.
The Mackems will be back on their own turf as they push to extend the Stadium of Light’s unbeaten record so far in the league.
Ballard has been immense for Sunderland, but he is almost guaranteed to have a difficult evening against the Gunners while defending one man in particular.
Dan Ballard vs Gabriel may be the matchup of the year
Ballard is a towering centre-back who has proved that he can indeed make the step up to the standard required in the Premier League.
Sunderland are facing the league leaders, who have many threats like Bukayo Saka and Mikel Merino, as Viktor Gyokeres could be absent for Arsenal.
However, centre-back Gabriel is emerging as one of Mikel Arteta’s biggest threats.
| Player | Height |
| Dan Ballard | 6,2″ |
| Gabriel | 6,3″ |
Gabriel already has three goal contributions in the Premier League this term, as the Brazilian has been a consistent scorer since arriving in England back in 2020.
It doesn’t matter if it’s goals or assists, Gabriel is one of Arsenal’s most dangerous threats, as his teammate Ben White explained just how “scary” the big man is, last year.
White said, as quoted by TBR Football: “The threat he has in the box is scary. Every time you get a corner, you kind of know you’re going to score. If the ball is in an alright area, it’s a goal for sure, which is amazing.”
Gabriel holds a one-inch height advantage over Ballard, as Le Bris will certainly look for his Sunderland star to mark the Arsenal man from set-pieces.
Arsenal are most dangerous from set-pieces
Sunderland have had success themselves this year with set-pieces, and have tallied three goals, with more success also coming in the air from open play.
However, Arsenal are a different beast when it comes to scoring from set plays, and are renowned for their constant ability to threaten from corners and free-kicks wherever they go.
- Arsenal have scored 18 times in the Premier League this season, 10 have come from set-pieces
- The Gunners average the most corners in the division per game at 7.3
- Gabriel is one of Europe’s highest scoring defenders, with 22 in his total Arsenal career
If Sunderland or Ballard give Arsenal an inch, then the Gunners will punish them, as Gabriel is the main man, but not the only player who can hurt them.
Ballard will need to be on top of his game for the clash, and it could be the most interesting showdown of the entire Premier League weekend.
Enjoyed this article? Stay connected with all the latest Sunderland news, updates, and behind-the-scenes content by following us on our new Instagram account –@mackemnews247