12 players could miss Sunderland vs Arsenal as injury latest includes Viktor Gyokeres blow

Arsenal and Sunderland are both expected to have plenty of important players on the sidelines when they meet in the Premier League this Saturday.

The Gunners will be looking to continue their impressive start to the season and extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table.

Mikel Arteta's side have a six-point advantage over Manchester City in the current standings, while reigning champions Liverpool are seven points adrift in third and both clubs are set to go head-to-head on Sunday.

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That means Arsenal have the chance to go nine points clear with a win over Sunderland on Saturday evening, but the Gunners will have to do so without some key personnel.

Viktor Gyokeres is the latest player to be added to the injury list after the striker suffered a hamstring injury. The injury forced Gyokeres to miss the win over Slavia Prague in the Champions League, and it appears unlikely that he will be available to face Sunderland this weekend.

Gyokeres was also left out of the Sweden squad by newly-appointed manager Graham Potter for the World Cup qualifiers against Switzerland and Slovenia.

"We need our best players and Viktor [Gyokeres] and Dejan [Kulusevski] are important for us," Potter said after announcing his first Sweden squad.

"But we have the ones we have. We have to work with the players we have and create a team and the right environment. Then just work."

Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli have also been on the sidelines in recent weeks, but will have aspirations of returning after the international break to face Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby.

Gabriel Jesus has been recovering from a knee injury for the majority of the year and will be hoping to return to training in the near future.

Sunderland will also be forced to deal with some players being sidelined through injury. Ajibola Alese (shoulder), Dennis Cirkin (wrist), Romaine Mundle (hamstring), Leo Hjelde (Achilles) and Habib Diarra (groin) all missed the 1-1 draw with Sunderland last weekend through injury and are expected to remain unavailable.

Omar Alderete could also miss the match against Arsenal after picking up a head injury during the stalemate with the Toffees last week.