Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Both teams are looking for a vital win but for widely contrasting reasons. Sunderland know that a win would see them move out of the drop zone while their opponents Arsenal know that a win for them would see them move into third in a race for Champions League places that is hotting up by the week.
Sunderland did their hopes of safety a massive boost last week as they won the all important 6 pointer versus Norwich at Carrow Road. Defeat in that game and they would have all but been staring relegation in the face but as it stands there is a wave of optimism at The Stadium Of Light.
But if that was a crucial game last Saturday then this one is no less important as they still need to add more points to their current tally if they are to have any hope of staying up.
They go up against an Arsenal side who have all of a sudden been dragged into a fight for the last automatic Champions League qualification place. Their stuttering form has seen them swap 3rd place with Manchester City as of late and they will look to leapfrog them again with a win Today.
Thursday night saw them ease past West Brom thanks to an Alexis Sanchez brace but although it was a classy performance you can only get the feeling that it’s too little too late for The Gunners.
Another Top 4 finish will no doubt appease the Arsenal board but will that be enough to appease the fans. Probably not but unless Arsenal reach the nightmare scenario of finishing 5th then Wenger is going nowhere this Summer.
As for Today, I have a sneaky feeling Sunderland could get a point out of this. They are going to have to scrap for every single point now and they are going to be in a fight today which Arsenal won’t like one bit. A draw for me.
Papa Johns – If your team scores twice then it’s half price
