Recent posts
- Sunderland v Arsenal and the curious behaviour of the referee
- Let us not fool ourselves – the next four games are tough
By Tony Attwood
“Arteta has not yet completely ruled Martinelli or Gyokeres out of the game” according to Football London but of course, the injury level is still a major point of concern for the club. And there is an awareness that the clubs Arsenal play are increasingly adopting a policy of holding their defences together and then nicking a single goal, before closing up shop totally. It is thought to be the only way to stop Arsenal continuing the ten-match winning streak with 21 goals scored and one conceded.
Certainly, to have gone on the current unbeaten run of the type we have seen of late is amazing under any circumstances, but to do it with such an injury list is extraordinary.
But of course other clubs are copying Arsenal – if not on the injury front then at least in terms of playing teenagers, and it is noticeable that after Downman came on for Arsenal, so then did Ljust a few days after Liverpool made quite a fuss about having 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha scoring for the club. As ever, where Arsenal go…
The point about these players, apart from them being young and very good, is that they don’t count in terms of the 25-player list, and their nationality is not a matter of concern either, in terms of Premier League restrictions. So the bigger clubs have, for a number of years, been putting more and more effort into finding and offering places to younger players.
Indeed as the Guardian pointed out, “The record for the youngest Champions League debut has been broken three times in the last five years: by Youssoufa Moukoko, Lamine Yamal and now Dowman.”
So, as for today’s game, as we have seen, this is first against sixth, in terms of the last six games played and first versus fourth in terms of the current league table.
Matters are evened up a bit by the fact that Sunderland have a range of injuries just as Arsenal do, with six players ruled out: Mouhamadou Habib Diarra, Omar Alderete Fernandez, Leo Fuhr Hjelde, Dennis Cirkin, Romaine Mundle, and Ajibola Afolarin Alese
This is also Sunderland’s first season back in the Premier League since their relegation in 2016/17, during which time they have also spent three seasons in League after back-to-back relegations. On the way back up they took three seasons in the Championship before returning to the big league.
The two clubs’ record last season shows that despite playing eight more games than Arsenal, and obviously playing against weaker opposition (being that they were in the Championship) they only managed two more points than Arsenal by the end of the season, which really puts their achievement last season in perspective.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Sunderland | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 58 | 44 | 14 | 76 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 38 | 20 | 14 | 4 | 69 | 34 | 35 | 74 |
We might also note in passing that they scored 11 fewer goals than Arsenal last season, despite being in a lower division and playing more games. They also conceded 10 more goals. So, although they are currently standing high in the league (fourth as of this morning) this does not indicate some sort of overall superiority.
Interestingly, in five of the last seven seasons they have actually played in the end-of-campaign play-offs… the League One play-off in 2019, 2021, and 2022 and the Championship play-offs in 2024 and 2025. Thus, I doubt that too many Sunderland fans, players and the management are looking seriously at winning the league this season, and it might well be that although they won’t sway it, they would feel that the Europa would suit them far better than the Champions League next season.
The problem with clubs that rise very rapidly is that of finance. They have obviously based their accounts on years of being in the lower leagues, and will be cautious about splashing more and more money out on new players and new contracts, with their being a danger that something might go wrong. That is not to say that I am expecting them to be relegated this season or next, but rather for a club inj this position, solidifying their place in the Premier League must be the target. Going into next season’s Champions League could be a dream, but a series of poor defeats there because the squad is stretched too thin could also alienate the support.
More on this shortly..
