Arsenal Prepares for Sunderland Clash as Arteta Faces Criticism

Arsenal head to Sunderland on Saturday night with a perfect league record, a Champions League win in their pocket and a growing noise swirling around the players who are no longer there.

Three from three in the Premier League, including that statement victory over Chelsea. A tight but deserved Champions League opening win, sealed by Martin Odegaard despite a flurry of missed chances. The football is flowing, the results are sharp, and yet the conversation keeps drifting back to those who have left – and one star who, according to a former Gunner, is not matching the hype.

Next up is Granit Xhaka’s Sunderland, sitting on four points from four games and braced for the visit of a side that suddenly looks ominously assured.

Saka under fire: ‘gets away with murder at times’

Bukayo Saka’s status as one of the Premier League’s elite wide forwards has been challenged – and not gently – by ex-Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant.

Pennant believes the numbers behind Saka’s performances do not justify the “world-class” label often attached to the Hale End graduate, arguing that the 23-year-old is being judged more kindly than others at his level.

“If you start touting players as world-class, one of the best wingers in the world or the best winger in the Premier League, then you've got to be in those numbers. I would say it's non-negotiable,” Pennant told GOAL.

He held up Mohamed Salah as the benchmark.

“If you look at Mohamed Salah, he did it for nine years straight. In the bracket of goal contributions, it's plus 20.”

For Pennant, that’s the standard Saka must hit consistently if he is to sit in the same conversation.

“I think he [Saka] does get away with a bit of murder at times, the numbers and his stats. He can put in some absolutely stellar performances but if you look deep and you start digging deep and you look at his stats, compared to top wingers around the globe and who played in the Premier League as well, they fall quite short."

It is a blunt assessment, and it lands just as Arsenal’s season begins to gather pace. Saka remains central to Mikel Arteta’s plans, but the scrutiny on his end product is clearly not going away.

Arteta embraces ‘bad cop’ role amid Jesus and Martinelli fallout

While Saka faces questions about his ceiling, Arteta is dealing with criticism of a very different kind – from players who have already walked out of the door.

Gabriel Jesus, now at Barcelona after a deadline-day move, claimed in an interview with SportyTV that he had been abruptly separated from the Arsenal squad before his exit.

“Out of nowhere they put me to train apart from the group,” Jesus said, adding that “nobody told me nothing.”

Arteta pushed back, insisting there was communication and using another recent departure to underline what he sees as a strong relationship between the club and its former players. Leandro Trossard, who left for Besiktas in July, was in the stands to watch Arsenal beat Chelsea, a detail Arteta pointed to as evidence of lingering goodwill.

He was also pressed on Ian Wright’s recent admission that he felt “uncomfortable” with what he saw as a lack of dialogue around Gabriel Martinelli’s move to Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League earlier this month.

Arteta’s response was firm and laced with surprise.

“Very surprised [to hear], to be fair, especially because with Gabi [Jesus]. I had an individual talk in the dressing room. I don't know what words were said, [but] it's fine. The words that we used were all about gratitude.

“I don't know, it's OK. Sometimes I understand that when you have to deliver bad news, or news that people don't expect, somebody has to be the bad cop. If I have to be, I have to be and I understand.”

It was a revealing line. Arteta is not backing away from the idea that he will be the one to deliver the harshest truths if that is what the job demands.

The question now is simple: with Arsenal flying into Sunderland and Europe already off to a winning start, will the noise from ex-players and pundits linger, or will another ruthless performance turn down the volume?