I was going to do one of those clever invite the opposition blogs. You know, chat to my Sunderland supporting mate about how he sees Arsenal, what his own side’s strengths and weaknesses are and generally give the P.A. readership, erudite and urbane as you all are, the chance to see the world through their eyes.
Problem is he’s a bit blinkered with hatred for us (doubtlessly born out of jealousy) and tends to answer even the most ambiguous questions with a long drawn out “Aye”. Only the subtlest alteration in stress or inflection gives you a clue to his thinking. Wouldn’t have read well so I scrapped that idea.
Unperturbed and determined to pursue some semblance of the plan I searched for a few Sunderland blogs online so I could quote extensively from the comments they attracted. Unfortunately the first one I came to had me screaming at the monitor after they talked about Per’s injury which lead to their goal the last time we played up there. They seemed to suggest he was somehow inept or bumbling not to have stopped whichever clodhopping Sunderland player it was that lurched passed him as he lay injured on the floor. I fought down the bile and ploughed on. The next site I came to had robbed my idea. Well, ok it’s a pretty well worn and old idea but I had thought of using it so that much was down to me. This Black Cats blog had interviewed a man who shall remain nameless but writes for a leading allegedly Arsenal supporting blog. He used the platform of today’s opponents supporters blog to display disloyalty, dishonesty, dishonour and generally bleat in the most abject way about how miserable he was that we lost to Birmingham in the widdley diddley cup final and how it wasn’t fair that nasty old Arsene wouldn’t change his ways having singularly failed to replace any of the hundred stars he’s sold in the last two weeks. You catch my drift. I was angrier than ever by now so shut down my search and just started to think about Arsenal versus Sunderland without any outside help thank you very much.
Sunderland to me is two memories. The first shared by many of my generation features a trilby hatted man with a flapping mac and red tights who looked like a nineteen fifties car mechanic and part time Butlins Redcoat in his best clothes on a day out, doing a funny hop skip and bouncy jump across the hallowed turf of Wembley. Bob Stokoe had just witnessed his fabulously coiffured and bewhiskered Sunderland team hand out an unlikely FA cup final defeat to an infamous Leeds United team who were in their pomp back in 1973. The nation cheered as the red and white striped journeymen who had come down to London as little more than sacrificial lambs bullied Leeds (not many did that) and kept them at bay, thanks in no small part to some truly incredible goal keeping from Jim Montgomery. The double save from Trevor Cherry’s header and Lorimer’s follow up shot was so ridiculously good that even as I watch the youtube video now, knowing what will happen, I’m still convinced it goes in. Brian Moore commentating for ITV at the time was equally bewildered, shouting “And a goal … NO.. my goodness I thought Lorimer had got that one”. I’ll draw a veil over the fact that Sunderland knocked us out of the FA Cup in the semis to deny us our rightful chance of revenge against a hated Leeds side who had somehow beaten us in the previous year’s final. It’s a measure of how much Leeds were despised in the early seventies that despite the indignity of being dumped out of the cup by second division opposition I still wanted them to go on and win the cup.
My other memory when I think of Sunderland, shared only by me and my immediate family, is being driven around Roker Park about a dozen times on our way to a bizarre holiday destination somewhere on the North East coast. Mum was wrestling with a Bartholomew’s road atlas and Dad was becoming increasingly exasperated as no matter how many different escape routes she plotted for us the magnetic force of Roker Park pulled us back into it’s orbit. 
Of course Sunderland left their historic home back in 1997 exactly a hundred years after building it on what was originally farm land. Like Arsenal they built and moved into a new shiny stadium and despite the financial implications and inevitable stresses of a stadium move they stuck with the same manager and continued to play in an attractive, exciting style and remained firmly among the elite of European football, their beautiful pitch with it’s flawless playing surface being the envy of other less fortunate clubs.
Oh wait.
Sunderland like many others who’ve built new stadia have struggled to find consistent success. Or even consistent top flight status. In fact the last time they achieved consistent success was between 1891 and 1895 when they won the league three times in four seasons. That 1973 triumph against Leeds was their last ever trophy.
Strangely though, as I was trawling the blogosphere to find Sunderland quotes for my abortive article and whenever I speak to my Sunderland supporting friend the mood was and is always positive. The passion and support and self belief are everywhere self evident. One blog had at least five of the current Sunderland first team better than their opposite numbers in our team. And it’s been forty years without a trophy. Seventy seven years since they won the league. Something to ponder the next time you have to read or listen to some whining anti Arsenal ‘fan’ bitching because Sky told him to about seven years, and trophy droughts.
Modern day Sunderland as far as we’re concerned means packed defences and a lack of ambition at our place and a deliberately ploughed pitch with knee high grass at their place. I feel embarrassed for those passionate loyal supporters having to stand up and shout for a side that showed such a craven lack of self belief and desire at the Emirates or for a club that along with Milan should hang their heads for deliberately creating an unplayable surface just to stop their visitors producing decent football. Having said that their fans have been known to stand and applaud some of our players on occasions so hats off to them for that. O’Neill as a manager has always been an annoying waspish presence on the touchline but he knows how to organise his teams and does have some good players. It’ll be vital Theo has a good game to keep their speedy left back penned in his own half, but if we show the same patience we employed against the Orcs and the bravura with which West Ham and Liverpool were put to the sword we have enough to beat them.
Of course as Per can testify, sometimes a deep hoof print in the wrong place at the wrong time can make a mockery of even the best laid plans.
Positively Arsenal 
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Excellent Steww. I’m really hoping the post mid-week International curse doesn’t strike today and the team can continue its upward trajectory.
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P.S. I just watched that double save you posted – it was amazing and got me thinking about a fine double save by the much maligned Fabianski
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Passenal – remarkable similarities between the two. Fab was never remotely as bad as the media told the gullible he was.
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Thoroughly enjoyable read, sets the stage very nicely.
Interesting parralels between two clubs with limited resources having the ambition to develop a new stadium and actually delivering on it; as we know, numerous clubs have talked about attempting the same. And talked. And talked. Hats off to both these clubs for achieving something of value, permanence and class.
What I especially like about the Stadium of Light is the way they, in an architectural sense, future-proofed the place by designing the modular sections in such a fashion that a second tier, or top deck, can be completed the moment the club reaches a certain size.
I have no idea if the ground staff deliberately roughened up the pitch the day Per got hurt. I was there and it looked very cloddy to me. But locals will tell you the how the almost complete absence of sunlight between mid-September and early June plays a part in the overall disintegration of the pitch, certainly come February. The absence of a discernible temperature reading for most of the year can’t help matters much.
Sunderland itself is a fairly poor, very old-fashioned working class part of the North East and the club is an important section of the local community. They make great efforts with nearby charities – in particular with the creation of drop-in centres for the local youth who might otherwise be getting in trouble.
The cup final in 1973 was probably the highlight of the entire decade for neutrals throughout the land; the fact that Sunderland, yesterday’s underdogs, are now firmly established in the Premiership whilst their former rivals languish in another league is a salutary point.
Tough game awaits us all; still think we’ll win 0-3!
Have a great day everyone.
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Only a certain type of Arsenal fan could refer to a goalie capable of that kind of brilliance as “Flappyhandski” …
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Andrew – you shame me with your reasonableness and even handed approach to Sunderland. But I still think they dug up the pitch on purpose!
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They did indeed Stew .It was like a carpet for their next game ,which was against lowly opposition.
Great read btw .Thanks.
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In addition to Per sustaining a sprain tumbling into a crevasse last time out I’m sure Aaron suffered an equally nasty twist when his boot got stuck in the entrance to a badger’s set.
Hang on – I’m moaning about the pitch and its hours before kick off
Seems to me we have more than enough to dispose of the Mackems – let’s just get the job done – go after Bramble
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Talking of Aaron it was he who galvanised us last time if I remember. Great player. Great attitude.
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That old Arsenal international break (that plays havoc with wengerball team cohesion) followed by trip up North against hard running and tackling opposition hoodoo. That’s one “tradition” or is it a bad habit that needs to be put to rest. Dig deep guys. Mid-table opposition knows this is the best time to play Arsenal, plus we have defenders on sidelines. Nice post Steww.
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Will Diaby start? I guess so.
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Steww – How could you? So much optimism and serenity. Don’t you know we are one injury away from Squillaci. Where is all that fear-monging and sensationalism? At this rate P.A. will never attract all those hungry eyeballs at sites like NewsNow. Hmmm.
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Great writing steww!
So what line up do we expect today?
Szcezsny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Kos(iggi?), Nacho; Jack, Santi, Diaby; Theo, Giroud , Podolski
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passenal : He’s a man completing a 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle in front of an audience which is fixated on one piece of the puzzle. If only they could look up to take in the whole picture, they would see the shapes and connections slowly coming together to create a beautiful picture.
^ what a way to put it?!^
mind if i quote you ?
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wilshere to have a rest and rosicky on ? yes? no?
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“mind if i quote you ?”
Feel free hunter13, as I was having one of my rare poetic moments 🙂
Wilshere is already a target so a rest could be good, then again he is in form so it would be a shame to waste that. It’s a tough one. I’ll leave it to the man with the plan to decide!
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Fire with fire in the middle of the park today – Jack to play
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you hsould charge trademark fees ..its brilliant … i would add that such a feat needs the silence and clamness of a snooker room…cant heckle and abuse the snooker player when he has to calculate in such percission… imagine some fat yob standing up and abusing higgins when he’s about to make his shot to take the frame..wenger would make a good snooker player i suppose….. he looks like he has it in his blood…gentlemans sport …silence class bow ties black shoes white shirt .. and a perfect “pitch” for the trigonometric calculations of passing and redistribution of ball…
ill get my coat….
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Fantastic club Sunderland, real fans & a club with a history, always had a soft spot for them,not sure why-it could be just be the red and white stripes, I hope we bloody murder them today though! COYG!.
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fergie furious with fixture schedule…
weve seen this movie over and over again….and again… is there no reporter in this land to tell him ” oh do shut up, youve been saying that the last 30 years mate….find something new”
come on everton!!! you too pardeau !!
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Mel – I hear you but we’re all Newcastle fans today though.
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1-1 come on nufc
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sahil February 9, 2013 at 11:51 am
That or Ramsay in for either Mikel or Diaby but I suspect your line up works best.
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Arsenal team: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Arteta, Wilshere, Ramsey, Cazorla, Walcott, Giroud #SFCvAFC
Resting Lukas again. Shame.
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Any decent streams?
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ello ello ello.. I don’t really frequent the interweb as much as I did, used to enjoy that other blog a couple of years back it was something wonderful then I left and went back there a few weeks back and found the family had left and all that was left was a bunch of fence sitters, I didn’t have the heart to post amongst it as I do have sensitive stomach and many of the comments found elsewhere have the habit of making me puke a lil in my mouf although I enjoyed reading the odd couple of posts out of every hundred from george and frank ( I guess class is permanent) then they were banned and what happened to a-dweeb as james used to call him hahahaa the boy sounds like he needs someone to tell him its all right and give him a hug anyhoo I didn’t know where to go so I just stuck around cos I don’t use twitter until I decided to search for some of the old posters on google to find where they were.. I can’t explain how grateful I am for what u guys have done here, I’ve gone through some of the previous posts and comments and I can’t explain the warmth love and delight which comes out of this place amongst the bile out there its a real sanctuary as it would be with all the quality involved, reminds me of a team I think they call arsenal!! U supporters are amazing a big ohiyo to all the oldies u know who u are and the new skool (how does wenger find the talent hehe) u are amazing and I can’t get enough of this team and what’s coming out of it and is still yet to come out of it, the spirit is there for all those with the eyes to see it and win lose or draw there’s always an air of magic about it difficult to quantify but for me always a joy to behold, I won’t post as much as I used to but I love actually being able to read every comment with incite and interest your strike rate and form is quite remarkable… KAMAAAN the ARSENAL!!! Its great to have a place to gloat hehehe
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You can try eplsite.com Mel
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I hope it’s Santi out on left and not Ramsey, the latter’s been doing rather well in the middle of late.
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Cheers sahil!
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sagna as cb?
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Finally!! Great strike by Santi (or did Giroud get something on it?
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No, clean strike.
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sant!
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Mignolet….aaaaargh! Arsenal away, cue keeper having the game of his life. What a save from about 2 inches.
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Santi has been as good today as I’ve seen him. Our movement, ball retention and refusal to be bullied have been outstanding. How it’s only 1 – 0 I shall never know.
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We should be at least two goals up if it wasn’t for Mignolet. 2-0 and we are out of sight as Sunland attack is anaemic. I hate 1-0 leads. Not good for the ticker.
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Aaron and Theo both unlucky not to be on the score sheet. Larry content to bring others into the game rather than going for goal himself. Complete centre forward.
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Great team selection by Wenger. He knew the hobbit looking bastard would pack the midfield and he went with the most creative midfield he could get away with. Santi, Jack, Aaron and Arteta are on fire today. The possession stats must be at least 65% Arsenal thus far.
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Do keepers play so well against us because we give them so much practice? Maybe if we created less chances they’d be a bit sleepy when the shot came in? Could be all this non stop attacking football that is our undoing.
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the hobbit looking bastard
ha ha ha …
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Who is Larry Stew?
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I said on Twitter Brian Clough must turn is his grave to see one of his own ex-players sending his team out to kick the opposition rather than training them to believe they’re good enough to play against us.
Clough would prefer to get soundly beaten than resort to such tactics. O’Neill, for shame.
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g69 – Larry is Steww’s name for Giroud. He has been Anglicized. Cute isn’t it?
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” Gainsbourg69 February 9, 2013 at 3:56 pm
Who is Larry Stew?”
Giroud. I’m trying to make it catch on. The old thesp Laurence Olivier was known as Larry hence…
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George:
My Russian channel is showing an Arshavin compilation at half time. Happy days!
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In fact he was known as Lord Larry which is even better.
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Steww – I didn’t get the Lawrence Olivier connection. You are our renaissance man indeed.
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OK here we go. More of the same please. Protect our makeshift defence by keeping the ball in the Sunderland half. Oh and pop it in the net when that becomes an option.
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remember john goodman with the dude in the coen movie?
” this is what happens larry! this is what happens when you ****a stranger in the @rse larry!”
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