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Key events
Justin emails in with the subject of ‘Stadium of Darkness’ …
So will Mikel Arteta sneak into the away dressing room tonight and take out all the light bulbs? Just to motivate his champions by having them stumble around in the dark as they change in the Stadium of Light? Expect to see some odd numbers on the shirts of some Arsenal players when they take the field.
You really cannot knock something slightly ridiculous when it seems to be working, which is annoying.
Sunderland parade new striker Juan Angulo, signed from Independiente del Valle last week, before kick-off at the Stadium of Light. That one had passed me by – and I’ve spent all summer writing down hundreds of transfers for this …
JD emails in …
Here is my early prediction for very competitive EPL season. Teams will struggle to reach 70 points. The team getting 75 will surely be champions. Whether Arsenal get to ninety plus or they just about scrap to 70-75 remains to be seen.
Well, I’d like to point out that Hull are on course for 76 points. Get the parade bus ready.
Full time: Tottenham 0-0 Everton. Some oddly cheery Spurs fans hold up a sign that says: ‘Please score a goal’. Not today. Other supporters are more glum.
This is how the Premier League table looks ahead of kick-off at Sunderland …
This hasn’t changed in the last two hours but why not check out the race for the golden boot as well …
Mikel Arteta revealed yesterday that he trains his Arsenal players to expect things to go wrong after their flight to Naples was delayed by five hours on Tuesday.
I love those challenges. I try to create them in pre-season, so when they happen, we already experience them and we already know. So, get to the stadium very late, change the routine as soon as the players have to do something else.
Just delay the meals, delay the transport, take a different route. We have done many things: make the dressing room hotter, more difficult, more challenging, less [massage] beds. Those kind of things. Because we are going to have to adapt to different contexts and we will try to anticipate it and create the best possible conditions. But when there is that element of stress or surprise on matchday, it’s important [to be prepared].
The Premier League is sponsoring the Together against Suicide campaign this weekend. Barney Ronay has penned a column that, well, you simply must read.
The fact is, it’s hard to be a man at any age. Or at least, it’s hard in a way that is distinct from other forms of hardness. And yes this statement might fail to draw an overwhelming wave of sympathy, but this is part of the problem. Pain comes for everyone. There’s no hierarchy of suffering. And male pain, male alienation is often carried around like a dead weight for exactly this reason.
“They are the best team in Europe,” said Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris yesterday, not of their midweek opponents Hull but of Arsenal. He is looking forward to today’s test ahead of the start of Sunderland’s Europa League campaign next week.
They are the best team in Europe at the minute and they have good momentum as well. We can’t get complacent otherwise it is finished very quickly. If you think that you are already a European team, it’s going to be a big problem.
They are flying right now and they have many threats on the pitch but we have a good team as well. It is a good challenge and we need these challenges to get better.
Starting lineups
Sunderland (4-2-3-1): Roefs; Mukiele, Ballard, Danso, Reinildo; Sadiki, Xhaka; Meunier, Le Fée, Angulo; Brobbey
Subs: Ellborg, Hume, O’Nien, Alderete, Methalie, Talbi, Rigg, Fofana, Isidor
Regis Le Bris makes no changes from the 1-1 draw with Brentford. Former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka captains Sunderland as usual. Former Spurs defender Kevin Danso is in the centre of defence while new signing Malick Fofana is on the bench.
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Ødegaard, Lewis-Skelly, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Tzolis
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Hincapié, Eze, Timber, Gyökeres, Madueke, Merino, Zubimendi, Guimarães
Mikel Arteta also keeps the same XI from the win against Chelsea. Former Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimarães is spared the wrath of the Stadium of Light to start with – he’s on the bench. Max Dowman is absent after playing for Arsenal’s under-21s in their defeat to Chelsea this afternoon.
It is goalless between Tottenham and Everton a few minutes into the second half. Thierno Barry has just threatened an opener.
James Wallace has updates on that one here …
Today’s Premier League scores and reports
Chelsea 2-2 Hull
Liverpool 0-0 Fulham
Aston Villa 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Crystal Palace 2-3 Ipswich
Bournemouth 2-2 Brentford
Preamble
Yes, there is more Premier League action today. Arsenal are looking to maintain their 100% start to the season as champions as they take on Sunderland at a ground where they were held to a 2-2 draw last season. Mikel Arteta’s side were in Italy in midweek, escaping from Naples with a 1-0 win, while their hosts on Wearside this evening also won 1-0 at home to Hull in the Carabao Cup.
The Stadium of Light is entering a new era over the next few days as Sunderland host European football for the first time in 53 years – AZ Alkmaar visit here next Wednesday in the Europa League. This evening, Arsenal come up against the familiar face of Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka, who was of course suspended the last time they won here in October 2016.
Stay tuned to hear how Arteta has been hardening his Arsenal players up for uncomfortable occasions like this, including making the dressing room hotter and delaying the team meals. I have been preparing myself in similar fashion, foregoing dinner to keep me sharp for minute-by-minute coverage. Feel free to get in touch via email as the game progresses. Kick-off is 8pm BST.
#Sunderland #Arsenal #Premier #League #live #Premier #League
