Sunderland look set to be without their experienced defender against Arsenal

Omar Alderete will miss Arsenal’s visit to the Stadium of Light on Saturday evening due to the ongoing impact of a concussion, according to reports.

Reports from Paraguay say that the experienced defender will also sit out his nation’s two upcoming friendlies in the international break as he recovers from the concussion sustained during Sunderland’s 2-0 win over Wolves last month.

Speaking after Sunderland’s 1-1 draw with Everton, head coach Régis Le Bris confirmed that the 28-year-old was still going through the concussion protocols: “We don't know yet [whether he can face Arsenal], he had a residual symptom, so we have to assess his health.”

Sunderland could as a result name an unchanged squad for the visit of the league leaders. Romaine Mundle and Dennis Cirkin are closing in on a return, but Saturday’s game is likely to come too soon.

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Le Bris hails Granit Xhaka’s impact at Sunderland ahead of Arsenal reunion

Le Bris has meanwhile praised Xhaka’s impact following his first goal for the club and ahead of his reunion with Arsenal this weekend: “It is really important for us to have him. I think we have many young players, and many new players in this league. They don’t know the condition of the league, but with a player like Granit, with his previous experiences, he is really important for us to help show them what is required. As he showed the other night [against Everton], he also has the quality to score and that is obviously important too.

“I am happy to have this kind of player,” he added.

“He wants to play football and he wants to be competitive. He is always connected with the game, and he sets the standards – that is so important for us.It’s important to have the right emotional level, and Granit is very good with that. Sometimes, you can get too excited at times, but you have to stay calm. When you have this kind of player [Xhaka] who is really stable, that helps to keep the balance, which is what you need. It is very important to have that on the pitch.

“We knew what we needed to add for the Premier League. The Premier League is so demanding in lots of different ways. We knew what we needed. We wanted to keep the right mentality, the ability to connect with team-mates, so it was always going to be important to sign players who bought into the identity of the club. Granit has done that. Then, we knew we were probably going to be signing a lot of young players because that is one strength of this club, so we also knew we would have to balance that with experience, where someone like Granit is so important. So far, it has worked well.”

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