Can Sunderland maintain their strong start? What the data tells us
Sunderland are preparing for their toughest Premier League test yet on Saturday evening
Régis Le Bris says he has noticed a strong reaction from his Sunderland players in training this week.
Captain Granit Xhaka was critical after the 1-1 draw with Everton of how the group had trained a day previous, saying it had carried into their sloppy start on Monday Night Football and cost them the chance to win three points. Speaking ahead of the visit of league leaders Arsenal on Saturday evening, Le Bris said his players had learned a valuable lesson.
"[Training has been] Excellent," Le Bris said.
"I don't know if it's the next opponent because Arsenal is so strong.
"Obviously, everyone is aware of the challenge and because of the lesson. I think it's human that when you win, to think even unconsciously, we are good.
"If it's not you, maybe around you. It's a good lesson because if you step back just a bit, probably if you don't train properly, the link is not direct, but it exists somewhere. If you don't train properly, maybe you won't be able to challenge the first minutes or even more of the game because we conceded a shot just after 10 seconds."
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Why Granit Xhaka has been crucial to Sunderland's preparations for Arsenal this week
Le Bris said Xhaka's knowledge of Mikel Arteta's Arsenal had been useful to lean on this week, but said the 33-year-old's most important contribution had been within the dressing room.
"Yes, he's useful in different ways," Le Bris said.
"His knowledge about Arsenal is important for us. We spoke together with the coaching staff all week. I think the main point is his belief. The way he can transmit confidence to the squad, to tell the players we can win something against this squad, even if they are really strong. This part is also really important.
"We spoke this week about his leadership. We agreed that one of the main strengths of a leader is to create other leaders.
"He's doing this every day, so you can set the standards, but at the same time, you know that if you are the only leader on the pitch for the full season, it's not sustainable. He has this maturity now, which is not obvious. You can meet different great players, but sometimes they are a bit selfish. It's not easy to have this full view, and it's the case for Granit."
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