'Arsenal more than a Robin van Persie show' - Sunderland boss Martin O’Neill

Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill believes Arsenal are no one-man show with Robin van Persie not the only threat the visitors pose on Saturday.

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The Dutch forward has scored 22 goals in 24 Premier League games so far this season – six more than the nearest challenger Demba Ba of Newcastle United.

Although Van Persie has been in remarkable goalscoring form for the north London side, O’Neill believes the Champions League contenders will not rely solely on the talent of the Dutch striker at the Stadium of Light.

“That is too simplistic,” he told reporters on Friday. “They have enough talent in their team.

“They are playing Champions League football next week, which is a credit to them. They have qualified once again into the latter stages of the competition, so I am not so sure that one man could just carry that on his own.

“They have talent, they have a bit of pace in their team as well, and their victory last week will give them encouragement and confidence for the rest of the season.”

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has caught the attention of O’Neill in recent matches and he praised the former Southampton attacker for his pace and prowess.

“I saw him play a couple of weeks ago against Leeds United in the FA Cup and I was really impressed with him,” the former Aston Villa manager added.

“He's very, very strong, he is very quick, he seems to know what it's all about and for one so young; he looks as if he has got a real future ahead of him.”

Sunderland are the league’s form side, transforming since the arrival of the Irishman, being the only team to have won five of their last six Premier League matches.

O’Neill was cautious to avoid over-confidence on Wearside: “If you win some matches, you get that confidence that we talked about and self-belief, and those things are pretty important when you are going into football games.

“But there is a difference between having respect for your opponents – which we have to have because we are not really good enough to treat anybody without it – and having a part of the fear removed because you are actually doing okay yourselves.

“That's been the case in point, but we could come unstuck here against Arsenal very, very easily. Other teams have over recent times, so it could be a problem for us.

“But we are going into the game in a great frame of mind, anyway.”

The 59-year-old also defended Arsene Wenger and insisted that the club’s recent run without winning silverware does not detract from his irrefutably impressive record as a manager.

“There's a bit of bickering at this moment because they haven't won [a trophy] in the last few years, but he has been a fantastic manager.

“Sometimes in the heat of the moment, things like that might be forgotten, but he has been a great manager for a long, long time and he continues to be so.”