At the top levels of the Premier League, teams and managers often have to think outside the box to gain any small advantage they can get, and if the opposition is leaders Arsenal who are on an 11-match winning streak, any small advantage will be valuable.
Hence, ahead of Saturday’s home match against Arsenal, Sunderland decided to move the advertising boards around the edge of the playing area at the Stadium of Light closer to the touchline so that it would become more difficult for the visiting team to launch long throws. Arsenal’s prowess at set-piece play is the talk of football circles, and apart from free kicks and corner kicks, they also do a lot of long-throw drills.
This, and the attention and implementation of other details, succeeded, to the extent that Sunderland ended Arsenal’s winning streak with a 2-2 draw after an equalizer in the 94th minute, and remains among the best teams in the league so far.
The advertising boards are moved closer to the touchline to limit the space available to Arsenal players when releasing the ball. Long throws into the penalty area often cause chaos with the attacking team ready to take advantage of the situation.
“We tried to find details to win the game,” Sunderland coach Regis Le Press said. “They (Arsenal) are really strong on set-pieces, we are good too, that threat was really important for this match and in the end it was balanced.”
The aim of the exercise was to disrupt Arsenal’s rhythm and style of play, and there were other ways the Black Cats were able to do that, with former Gunner Granit Xhaka almost always at the heart of the action. It was no coincidence that the visitors were limited to only two corners in the match.
The combative Swiss was quick to intervene and led by example as the home team did not give up, supported by a raucous crowd, and ended the day in an unprecedented position in the league for a promoted side.
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Even Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta praised Sunderland’s never-say-die spirit and their disruptive prowess. Saturday’s late equalizer was the team’s fifth goal scored after the 90th minute this season, the most goals scored by any team.
“There are a lot of matches like this in the English Premier League at the moment,” the Spaniard said. “We conceded a goal in a way that we know is one of their biggest strengths. They do that really well. After that, I think we reacted well. We scored the first goal, then the second and took control of the game. But at any moment, they just need a foul or a long throw, or a direct ball to create that chaos.”
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(tags for translation) Arsenal
