SUNDER AND LIGHTNING

Lion-hearted Cats show what's required to spike Arteta top Guns

- BY IAN MURTAGH

SO now we have the blueprint on how to rattle Arsenal's cages.

But to succeed, it requires the collective heart of a lion, an insatiable work-rate and a refusal to be bullied or bow to the inevitable.

Sunderland possess those qualities in abundance and it helps that they wear their motto ‘Til The End’ like a badge of honour.

It didn’t quite earn Regis Le Bris’ side the victory which had looked possible at halftime after Dan Ballard fired them into a deserved lead.

But by exposing a chink in Arsenal's armour, they have provided a template for title hopefuls Manchester City and Liverpool to follow.

The hosts had set their stall out before kickoff, narrowing the pitch to nullify the threat of Declan Rice's long throws. But this was more about scientific detail than the dark arts.

Manager Le Bris had challenged his players to go man for man with their opponents, get in their faces, win the 50-50 duels and put into practice skipper Granit Xhaka’s midweek claims that his former club were beatable.