A little parky out there this morning so get those thermals out boys and girls ans wear a vest, my mother swore by wear a vest. I'm really looking forward to the game, one more test on Marties road to the stars and one I expect us to pass, strange how the same bodies take to the pitch but all have new heads. Dont know if you saw MON's pre match confrence but one little comment said it all. He was asked what effect Wednesdays game would have, none he said, the days of excuses are gone. Bruce, who I liked, would always be looking for an excuse to lose, MON is always looking for a reason to win. A few weeks ago we watched the new Arsenal at the SoL, well today its the origionals, all the ball skills but with a very real cutting edge. I was finding our style boring, not because we played sit back and hit them on the break but because we played sit back with no fast break, the adition of Campbell solved that problem and I expect the Arsenal style to suit him. Boro did to us what we have been doing to others, the gooners wont and thats why we have a good chance. Lots of talk about how we handle their attack, I'm not worried about that and I'm sure MON will have that sorted, its all about how they handle our attack for me. Larsson and Mclean will have a tough day, both helping out our full backs and getting forward when we hit them. Gardner and Colback are starting to look like a strong pairing, both hard workers, both good defenders, both hard tacklers but both can attack and both are now a goal threat. Sess and Campbell will, IMO, relish todays style of play. To me today is all about who is fit and who can last the pace, enjoy your day and we will meet later to debate how we got those three points.
They were the pretenders to the throne....these boys are the masters of the passing game, and not just in their own half... Tough one to call this....RVP and the rest. Henry's last prem game (again). But their defence is iffy, and we seem to be scoring for fun, and not just ordinary goals, but some cracking one's to... Can we stop Walcott from running down the wing? Tough game...but it seems with MoN anything is possible...
Cant wait for this game Syd. It should be a good test to see if we are as good as we all think we are. There will be some good match ups today with Bardsley up against Oxlade-Chamberlain, and our own James McClean against whoever. Arsenal are very good in attack but i feel that with our pace up front we will cause them enough problems for them to be very wary of us. It will be tight but i'm going for a narrow 2-1 home win.
Were just trying to keep warm.... WHEN Thierry Henry last graced the Stadium of Light at the end of the gruelling 2005-06 campaign, the Frenchman received a standing ovation from all corners of the ground. It was Wearside’s recognition for one of the Premier League’s all-time greats, plying his trade in a cocksure Arsenal side that was similarly easy on the eye. But there will be no amorous or envious glances towards the opposition tomorrow, for the gaping chasm with Henry, right, and co has been reduced to a slither of a crack. Such has been Martin O’Neill’s injection of self belief into Sunderland’s ranks, that the fostering of a winning mentality presents no barrier towards the Black Cats registering successive victories from their Gunners double header. Arsenal are notoriously brittle away from home, highlighted by an almost two-month wait for a victory on the road, while Arsene Wenger’s team selection for both Premier League and FA Cup encounters will inevitably be influenced by Wednesday’s Champions League trip to AC Milan. The one hindrance lying in Sunderland’s path is the after-effects of their midweek trip to Middlesbrough and the price paid for a place in the fifth round of the cup. O’Neill has not been a big practitioner of squad rotation so far during his Sunderland reign – the bulk of his changes have been dictated by injuries or in last Saturday’s case, caution over asking too much of Fraizer Campbell. But the likes of Ahmed Elmohamady, Connor Wickham, David Meyler and deadline day arrivals Wayne Bridge and Sotirios Kyrgiakos will inevitably come into O’Neill’s thinking as he plots his team selection for tomorrow. Sunderland’s fatigue factor will remain somewhat of an unknown until kick-off, yet James McClean and Seb Larsson particularly, looked leggy at the Riverside and may benefit from a breather. We have been here before though. Think back to early January when Sunderland produced a Herculean effort to beat Manchester City and then benefited from just 48 hours rest before travelling to Wigan. Did Sunderland suffer? No, the adrenaline and momentum from the sweet taste of victory carried them through and they romped to a 4-1 victory over the Latics. Sunderland can’t be discounted from producing a similar response, even if O’Neill, as is perhaps the likeliest outcome, names the same XI who triumphed on Teesside. Arsenal are a different proposition to Wigan though and despite the rumblings of discontent, still romped to a 7-1 victory over 10-man Blackburn last weekend. Arguably, no other team in the top flight can boast a striker as dangerous as Robin van Persie either, as Sunderland found to their cost at the Emirates in October. Aside from the opening 10 minutes in North London, Sunderland were more than a match for the Gunners only for van Persie to produce that moment of magic with a scorching 25-yard free-kick. That has been the pattern of the season – van Persie continually Arsenal’s saviour after finally ridding himself of the injury problems which seemed intent on curbing his potential. The problem for Arsenal has been van Persie’s supporting cast, with the likes of Theo Walcott, Andrei Arshavin and Tomas Rosicky struggling to provide sufficient quality for Arsenal to remain a favourite for Champions League qualification. Matters have improved with the introduction of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain though, with the former Southampton man’s pace hardly the ideal opponent for Sunderland’s weary legs. Arsenal are no pushovers, yet neither are they infallible, particularly if Fraizer Campbell and Stephane Sessegnon can prey upon the obvious flaws in the visiting defence. Sessegnon’s recovery from the cramp he sustained at the Riverside is crucial to Sunderland’s chances, in a game which should prove a decent barometer of how far the Black Cats can go this season under O’Neill’s stewardship. Win and Sunderland move to within four points of the Gunners. Lose and the eighth position they currently find themselves in could be the limit of their ambitions. Verdict: Draw
Get Frazier in behind their defence and get Sess running at Mertesacker, and we might just get a result. 1-1
National Group official Neil Swarbrick has been selected to take charge of Saturday's Barclays Premier League game between Sunderland and Arsenal at the Stadium of Light. Swarbrick didn't join the list until the age of 29 and made rapid progress, refereeing 29 senior games during his first season at Football League level in 2005/06. Lancashire-based, Swarbrick has been a regular fixture ever since and was handed a heavy workload last season, including Championship fixtures. He has shown 78 yellow cards and four reds in 22 games this term. Swarbrick is yet to take charge of Sunderland or Arsenal this season, the last game he refereed Sunderland in was the 2010 FA Cup clash with Barrow at the Stadium of Light.
