Carabao Cup: Sunderland told key to beat Arsenal at Emirates

Sunderland manager, Lee Johnson, has told his team how to beat Arsenal when both teams clash in tonight’s Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Emirates Stadium.

Johnson wants his Sunderland side to enjoy themselves against Arsenal, adding that they should go to the Emirates Stadium with no fear, be a real team off-the-ball, be compact in shape, and be ready to break the Premier League side.

According to him, his players must put his footballing philosophy into practice against Mikel Arteta’s side in a bid to beat the Gunners in front of their home fans.

“It’s a chance for us to show what we can do on the big stage,” Johnson said at his pre-match press conference.

“The lads have got to enjoy it and go there with no fear.

“It will be interesting to see how we cope when we are the underdog, how we respond to that.

“We are going to have spells without the ball, we have to understand that, and therefore we have to maximise our time on the ball.

“We also need to be a real team off-the-ball, be compact in shape, and ready to break.

“But I do think we have players who can cause any team a problem.

“Our challenge is to disrupt Arsenal enough so that we can get some sort of flow when we’re on the ball.

“We’ve got good players – the midfield three, we’ve got good ball manipulators out wide, the forwards can hold the ball, but they can also run.

“I don’t think it’s an easy game for anyone when they play Sunderland, but obviously, the proof is in the pudding and we have to see how we get on tonight.”

The kick-off time for Arsenal vs Sunderland is 8.45 pm.