Sunderland

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

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The statistics might say playing at home is an advantage - but what happens when it is not?

So far this season, 53% of Premier League matches have been won by the home team - the highest ever rate in a single campaign.

On the flip side, just 26% have been won by the away team - the lowest rate since 2010-11.

However, this has not been the case for all teams.

For some, being on the road has been more favourable. Tottenham are perhaps the most contrasting example having the joint-most points away from home with 13, but the second-worst in front of their own fans with just five points.

In the second part of her chat with BBC Sport, performance psychologist Marie Cartwright explained: "With crowds when playing away from home, there is a reduced scrutiny as a whole for away teams in that those crowds expect the home team to be the ones in charge. The players feel less judged. The pressure is on the other side.

"Another reason could come down to something in psychology I like to call simplification of the task. The team has a better collective identity when they are away.

"The human brain still goes back to the cavemen days. We have to, as a collective, fight for something. We have to protect our name. It goes back to that hunter-gatherer-against-danger mentality.

"When players are in front of a home crowd, there can be a bit of playing up to the individuality.

"I really do believe that collective identity has a strong enough influence because it amplifies the purpose and the belonging - let's belong together, let's be stronger together."

The focus might be on the players' performances being impacted by being home or away, but what about the managers?

Wolves, West Ham and Nottingham Forest make up three of the bottom four for their home records so far this term, and all have changed their manager in recent weeks.

"100% managers and coaches can be affected, and sometimes even more so because there is so much riding on that one person," Cartwright said.

"The decision-making is the main thing. The crowd is chanting - 'take this player off, do this' - and it can lead to rushed decisions, particularly when the noise becomes relentless.

"Then there is the emotional regulation and touchline behaviour. A manager is pacing up and down, mirroring the stress state, and players see that. It can lead to mimicking and players feeling that stress too."

The impact on teams psychologically playing home or away is apparent, so how can they make the most from these different conditions?

"Our brains are wired to think negatively - it's a protection mechanism," Cartwright said.

"So when it comes to performing home and away, those players and managers who deal with it best are those who know how to use the noise and scrutiny and move on quickly from it - an ability to have a reset routine and regulate their emotions in these pressurised situations."

Read more from Marie in part one of her chat around the impact of playing at home here

Real Madrid are considering offers in the region of 20m euros (£17.69m) - from Sunderland, Aston Villa and Wolves for 21-year-old Spanish forward Gonzalo Garcia. (Fichajes), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

"Home advantage gives you an advantage."

It is a quote - among many - attributed to the famous former England manager Sir Bobby Robson - a simple, yet fair reflection of a historical format of football.

For as long as teams have played in leagues, games taking place home and away has been the norm, with the idea that playing at home will be to the benefit of that team.

But what is the impact of playing at your own ground in front of your own fans?

In the first part of her chat with BBC Sport, performance psychologist Marie Cartwright explained: "Home impact can be viewed in two ways. Sometimes it does have a positive impact, and what happens is there is an elevated motivation.

"What that means is the crowd energy increases adrenaline and that creates a momentum in effort and intensity in the players. It is also a familiar environment for the players, so that means it reduces the cognitive load. They don't have to think as much about anything else other than their play because they know the pitch, they know the routines, they feel settled.

"However, there are a couple of potential negative impacts as well, with the potential intensification in pressure in the home fans, most times, expecting dominance from the home team. That can lead to mistakes from players feeling bigger to them.

"There can then be what we call a threat state. The players might perceive consequences as high, so they feel they might be facing more criticism when they are at home."

While those who watch football know there are more factors than just where the match is being to take into consideration, the statistics do suggest the influence is there.

Since the Premier League started, the home win percentage has outweighed the away win percentage in all bar one season - the Covid-hit 2020-21 campaign in which fans were largely not allowed admission saw a 38% home win rate compared to 40% away win rate.

So how a team handles this additional crowd pressure seems to be a key factor.

"In psychology, there is something called the challenge and threat theory," Cartwright said.

"In reality what that means is a 'challenge state' can push the player into thinking, 'I've got this, I've got the resources to cope with this'. That leads to better decision making and quicker reactions.

"The threat state, on the other hand, players might think the consequences outweigh their ability to cope. In any match context, that can mean they have a narrow sense of focus, the focus is not quite the same, so the play becomes slower because of overthinking."

"It can also be called 'red brain or blue brain' - with red brain being the one with fear-based dialogue and internal negative self-talk, while blue brain is the cool, calm and collected one that can handle its emotions.

"What sits in the middle of these is distraction. How a player responds to distraction and filters out the noise, like the crowd, can impact which of these mindsets they move into and ultimately how the team performs."

Read more from Marie in part two of her chat about why teams some teams play better away from home and how it impacts managers - that will be on this page early next week.

Here is another handful of your best Premier League XIs.

What do you make of your fellow supporters' selections?

Joshua: 4-3-3. Mignolet, Ballard, O'Shea, Mukiele, Hume, Xhaka, Cattermole, Le Fee, Quinn, Phillips, Borini. They are all good players but, most importantly, they have or are leaving a legacy here at the Stadium of Light.

Ricky: 4-4-2. Sorensen, Makin, Bould, Ballard, Gray, Summerbee, Xhaka, Schwarz, Arca, Quinn, Phillips. A team full of big lads and direct attackers that would suit this year's Premier League perfectly.

Adam: 4-3-3. Montgomery, Gray, Ballard, Mukiele, Hume, Ball, Sadiki, Xhaka, Defoe, Phillips, Quinn. A legendary goalkeeper behind a tough and mobile defence. Ball would screen the midfield and Quinn would be the target-man. Phillips and Defoe in there for picking up the knock-downs.

*We'll let Montgomery slide for Premier League. Just this once.

George Mills
BBC Sport senior journalist

In a recent addition of the Football Extra newsletter, Roger asked BBC Sport: Players are frequently injured on international duty - such as Chris Wood for New Zealand last season, which may have ultimately cost Nottingham Forest a Champions League place. Are clubs compensated by the country or does insurance cover compensation?'

Since 2012, Fifa's Club Protection Programme has covered the salary of players injured on international duty - although there are some conditions.

Firstly, the player must be out of action for a period of at least 28 consecutive days and the injury must have been sustained during an "accident", which is defined in very boring and legally-specific detail in Fifa's guidelines, though it covers most of the examples you could think of.

The scheme pays the salary of an injured player up to the maximum amount of €7.5m (£6.6m) until they are declared fit to return for their clubs.

Transfermarkt lists Chris Wood as missing 18 days - three games - with the hip injury you mention from last March, suffered on international duty with New Zealand. As he returned inside 28 days, Forest would not have been eligible to claim compensation.

There are a couple of clubs who will currently be beneficiaries of this scheme though, including Newcastle United, whose £55m summer signing Yoane Wissa is yet to make an appearance since suffering a knee injury while playing for DR Congo.

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On this day in 2010, Sunderland stunned Chelsea with a memorable 3-0 victory at Stamford Bridge - a result that still stands out as one of the club's finest Premier League away performances.

Speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle about his time at the club, Nedum Onuoha added how special the victory was and how it remains as one of his most memorable moments in football.

The former defender said: "A couple of weeks after what was the worst day for Sunderland in derby history, we weren't necessarily in the best of moments as well. For that to happen and for me to be a goalscorer, for somebody who was playing right-back in the game, why was I 40 yards up the pitch?

"After I scored that goal and after the game, that was the most messages I have ever received and I had played for 16-17 years. It was astonishing."

The current Sunderland side have made an excellent start to the season following their promotion to the Premier League in May.

Onuoha added: "From the moment they started to bring in more players, you started to wonder if it will all gel together? Will they understand what it's like to play for Sunderland, what it's like to be up there and what it's like to be an underdog and so on. And ultimately, they have done.

"It looks like the players have been buying into what it means to play for the club. And the manager as well, I think he's doing a fantastic job.

"The way they have played makes them very tough to beat. I think their defensive record shows that. They are not an easy team to play against, and at times, opposition teams underestimate them.

"I have been very impressed. At the moment, it is maxing out the potential, but things could turn in an instant."

Listen on BBC Sounds

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We wanted your suggestions for Sunderland's all-time best Premier League XI.

And you delivered!

Here's a first bunch:

Nick: 4-4-2. Sorensen, Nosworthy, Kaboul, Kone, Van Aanholt, Larsson, Cattermole, Sessegnon, Arca, Jones, Phillips. I want chaos, crosses, knock-downs and Kev to bang in 42 goals in a week. Big Sam as manager here too.

John: 4-4-2. Sorensen, Kay, Alderete, Mukiele, Alonso, Sadiki, Diarra, Xhaka, Schwarz, Quinn, Phillips. Sunderland 2025 vintage are amazing but still room for a few tweaks to improve the squad. Could never separate Quinn and Phillips. Harsh to leave out Ballard and Hume.

Paul: 4-3-3. Mignolet, Bardsley, Ballard, Mukiele, Gray, Henderson, Xhaka, Reyna, Jones, Quinn, Phillips. Terrific players across three campaigns.

Reece: 4-2-3-1. Pickford, Hume, Kaboul, Ballard, Alonso, Cattermole, Xhaka, Larsson, Khazri, Defoe. The best players to play for Sunderland in the past 20 years. There are other almosts from the Championship but they didn't make the Premier League.

It's international break so let's have a bit of fun to pass the time.

Now we know football existed before 1992 but for the purposes of this little exercise, keep it Premier League please.

So tell us, who would be in your dream Sunderland Premier League XI?

The debate starts here.

Send your suggestions

Gavin Henderson
Fan writer

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Before Saturday's game, Arsenal were being built up as a mountain that nobody, not even Sunderland, were capable of climbing. Having conceded only three goals all season, riding high at the top of the division, it was seen as a bridge too far to imagine that Regis le Bris and his side could overcome them.

And, to be fair, I get it. Arsenal's ability to ensure they don't even concede shots, never mind goals, is unbelievable, and I'm fully expecting them to win the Premier League this season if they can be the solid defensive unit that they have proven themselves to be so far.

You should never write Sunderland off, though. We might not have the best players - although they are pretty damn good - but we have got more heart and spirit than any other team I have seen in the division this season.

Arsenal may well be a physical and organised side, but so are we - and, ultimately, they had no answer to the brute force of Dan Ballard and Brian Brobbey on the night.

I cheekily remarked on our podcast after the game that we had won 2-2, but it did genuinely feel that way.

Despite only collecting a point, the feeling when Brobbey muscled past Gabriel and karate-kicked the ball into David Raya's net was as good as any feeling I have had when we have scored a winner.

The Stadium of Light went berserk, bodies were flying all around me, and Sunderland achieved what I suspect few others will do this season - we took points off the mighty Arsenal and managed to breach a backline that has looked tighter than 10 coats of paint.

Four points from two games against Chelsea and Arsenal is an unbelievable return, and now is the time to start taking this Sunderland side seriously.

Barring a complete disaster, I would expect results to carry on in the manner that they have done thus far, and that would mean we are on course for a top-half finish, and a potential European place.

We are only about a third of the way into the season, but we need to start talking ourselves up instead of down. Why not? What have we got to lose? These players are certainly good enough.

Aim for the stars, because you never know what might happen.

Find more from Gavin Henderson at Roker Report, external

Sin bins? Bonus points? Two goals if you score from distance?

Imagine a world in which you could reinvent football.

It's a dream, of course. Just a bit of fun. But stick with us.

What if you had the power to change any of the game's laws and potentially bring to an end countless hours of discussion about handball, offside, video assistant referees, or anything else you want to?

Some of BBC Sport's familiar football faces have offered their own potential rule changes.

Watch them above or read more here

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Former Sunderland forward Marco Gabbiadini has described the Black Cats' start to the season as "remarkable".

Regis le Bris' side are fourth in the table, with five wins and four draws in their opening 11 matches. Among their impressive results are a 2-1 victory at Chelsea and holding leaders Arsenal to a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

Gabbiadini told BBC Radio Newcastle: "We are earning our stripes. There isn't any fluke about it.

"We all hoped we'd have a pleasant season without too much stress, but at the moment we're really taking it to the opposition.

"For a promoted team to be this competitive, and this competitive against the top teams, is remarkable.

"At what point do we start getting carried away? The only thing that's going to scupper us is losing key players. I can't see us really dipping."

Hear more on BBC Sounds

Whether Granit Xhaka is the signing of the season so far was a topic for discussion on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

The Observer's Rory Smith argued that the Black Cats' "really impressive" transfer activity goes much deeper than just bringing in the former Arsenal midfielder.

"Xhaka draws the eye because the transfer was such a head-scratcher," said Smith.

"I think it does distract from the fact they've signed some really good other players.

"Sunderland have got four or five players who have been used to playing in the Champions League."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer and listen on BBC Sounds

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Sunderland defender Dan Ballard believes his side "always have a gameplan to win" as they drew 2-2 with league leaders Arsenal.

Ballard opened the scoring against the Gunners before Sunderland fell 2-1 behind - and then a last-minute equaliser from Brian Brobbey earned the hosts a point.

Sunderland became the first side in the league to score more than one goal against Arsenal this season. Mikel Arteta's side had conceded just three goals from 10 league games before their trip to the Stadium of Light.

Speaking on his opening goal, Ballard said: "It was a really special moment for me, and a really important goal as well.

"We're scoring late goals and defending like our lives depend on it.

"We prepared for Arsenal like a normal game, but obviously the quality is a lot higher. It's exactly the game we thought would happen.

"You can probably tell that we always have a gameplan to win. We set out to win and I thought we executed the gameplan.

"It could have gone either way so we're obviously happy with the point."

You can listen to more from Ballard on BBC Sounds

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Former England striker Wayne Rooney says Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka is "probably the signing of the season".

Xhaka has played every minute of all Sunderland's league games, scoring once and providing three assists.

They currently sit fourth in the table after an impressive 2-2 draw with league leaders Arsenal.

Rooney said on The Wayne Rooney Show: "Coming back to the Premier League, you wonder if he can do it. Obviously with a promoted team as well coming up, what impact could he have?

"But he's probably been the signing of the season. He has been brilliant."

Watch The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Sunderland and Arsenal at the Stadium of Light.

Here are some of your comments:

Sunderland

Martin: What a team, what a performance! Dan Ballard showed his most complete game and so many of the rest of the team are really firing on all cylinders now. Brian Brobbey will get the headlines for the dramatic finish but Bertrand Traore was really impressive again. Another seven wins and we're safe...

Vince (Arsenal fan): Sunderland are quite simply Granit Xhaka personified. Steely willed and never one to throw in the towel, they did exactly what Xhaka pulled off when, as Arsenal captain, he roared back into favour after being booed off the field months earlier. Now, as Sunderland skipper, he is undoubtedly the driving force behind their lofty position in perhaps the world's toughest football league.

Klaus: This result could prove to be pivotal come the end of the season.

Tony: Felt we were very comfortable up until the rob by Declan Rice on Enzo le Fee. It became a different game after the equaliser and we were under the cosh. It turned again when Arsenal brought on a defender and we brought on a striker.

Arsenal

Neil: Arsenal were given no time to settle on the ball. However, they did look in control and there will not be many times they will they concede two goals from only two shots on target. Had a penalty been rightly given (what's the point of VAR?) early on when Mikel Merino was elbowed in the face before the ball was won, maybe the result would have been different.

Steadyedd: We looked leggy in midfield after Leandro Trossard scored, yet Mikel Arteta only made one substitution with Cristhian Mosquera. Surely this was the perfect game to bring on Christian Norgaard to help see it out and take some pressure off the centre-backs? Take Eberechi Eze off, man. Ben White and Piero Hincapie were both on the bench too, so use them to slow the game down. The calamitous equaliser could have been avoided with better in-game management. I'll allow Arteta the odd mistake, but he really has to look at himself here.

Tommy: Let's put the Arsenal run into perspective. Dropped points against three of the top six (before Sunday's games). Will crack again under the pressure of a close title challenge.

James: I'm sure there will be a pile-on because it's Arsenal and they dared to drop points for once. Not our best game but agonisingly close to pulling a result out of the bag. Really disappointed but we are a really, really good side. One result doesn't change that although the usual social media and mainstream media cliches will come out. We move on.

Gary Rose
BBC Sport journalist

It was the two ex-Arsenal men - Granit Xhaka and Dan Ballard - who perhaps epitomised Sunderland's battling spirit best in their draw against Arsenal.

Xhaka was the leader on the pitch, orchestrating things in the middle, while Ballard drove the opener past David Raya, provided an assist for the equaliser, and made a brilliant block in the final few seconds to prevent Arsenal snatching the win.

Ballard started his professional career at the Gunners, having been in the club's academy since the age of eight, but did not make a first-team appearance for them before joining Sunderland in 2022.

"It's a good morale boost to show we can go against a really top team - probably one of the best in Europe at the minute - and delighted with that," Ballard told Match of the Day after Saturday's game.

"But it is just one point and we've got a lot of work to do to achieve our goal of staying up this year."

Former England striker Alan Shearer told BBC Match of the Day: "Ballard epitomised everything Sunderland have done so well, with his aggression and stopping Arsenal play.

"They are really, really tough to play against and there were so many examples of him and his team putting their bodies in the line. Arsenal will not have many tougher games than that this season, and Sunderland thoroughly deserved the point."

The draw means Sunderland remain unbeaten at home and they have 19 points from 11 games, well on the way to avoiding relegation as they sit nine points above the bottom three.

"Sunderland went physical today but within the laws of the game, apart from one moment in the first half when Dan Ballard challenged Mikel Merino in the box," Match of the Day pundit and former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott said.

"They were well organised and I didn't think they'd be able to keep it up for 90 minutes.

"There's a reason why Sunderland will be fine in this league. The Stadium of Light is not an easy place to play football.

"It was the most rattled I've seen Gabriel and William Saliba this season."

You can read more analysis of Sunderland's draw with Arsenal here

Pundits Alan Shearer and Theo Walcott join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Everton 2-0 Fulham

• West Ham 3-2 Burnley

• Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal

Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris, speaking to BBC Match of the Day after their 2-2 draw with Arsenal: "The lads worked hard to the end. They believed it was possible to change the dynamic. It was a tough game, as we expected. They are probably one of the best teams in Europe. We struggled, but we still believed it was possible to score one more goal.

"Our fans helped a lot. We showed before that it was possible [to score late goals], so now we have this faith, this belief that until the final whistle, anything is possible.

"We were on the edge sometimes, but we're a new squad, we're young. We felt their pressure, their intensity. We felt the quality. We were on the edge during the second half.

"We tried to find the details to win the game. They're really strong on set pieces, but we're good as well. This was really important for this game, and it was balanced."

On Brian Brobbey: "We have many good options coming off the bench. So far, some of them haven't played a lot but were still connected with the squad. Brian worked hard after Wilson [Isidor], because Wilson started well. It's a reward for working hard."

On Sunderland's start: "For our fans, they deserve to look to the future with positive vibes. As a manager and coaching staff, we still want to improve our team, so we analyse. It was a good opportunity to do that and to improve the squad later."

Did you know?

Sunderland have scored more 90th minute goals than any other side in the Premier League this season with five - including stoppage time - with three of these goals altering the result of the match in their favour (W2 D1).

Listen to Le Bris' post-match thoughts on BBC Sounds

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Sunderland's performance

What did you make of Arsenal's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Sunderland name an unchanged side for the visit of Arsenal as Granit Xhaka faces his former side.

Sunderland XI: Roefs; Hume, Mukiele, Ballard, Geertruida, Reinildo; Xhaka, Sadiki, Traore, Le Fee; Isidor.

Subs: Patterson, Neil, Talbi, Brobbey, Rigg, Mayenda, O'Nien, Adingra, Masuaku.

There's three changes for Arsenal.

Martin Zubimendi returns from suspension while Eberechi Eze and Riccardo Calafiori also come back into the XI.

Mikel Merino continues to start in attack.

Arsenal XI: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Eze, Saka, Trossard, Merino.

Subs: Arrizabalaga, White, Lewis-Skelly, Hincapie, Mosquera, Norgaard, Nwaneri, Dowman, Harriman-Annous.