Jermain Defoe has been a thorn in Arsenal’s side for many years and the striker is once again gunning for Arsene Wenger’s side.
The Black Cats return to the Stadium of Light on Sunday to entertain the Gunners in a 2.05pm kick-off, and they will take to the field with confidence flowing through their veins following an impressive 3-0 win over Norwich City last weekend.
Defoe notched his 13th Barclays Premier League goal of the campaign during the win, and having previously found the net against the Gunners for West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur he will be desperate to add to both tallies this weekend.
“I have great memories of playing and scoring against Arsenal,” said Defoe.
“You always knew how important London derbies were to the players, the fans and the club, so you wanted to be the hero and wanted to score so it was always a good feeling to do that.
“Arsenal are a top team; they always keep the ball well and play attractive football, but there is no reason why we can’t win this game and get the points that will help us survive.
“We need to focus on ourselves and have that belief that we can win every game until the end of the season,” he continued.
“The league has been crazy this year and you haven’t able to predict anything from who will go down to who will finish inside the top four or win the league.
“It 100% [gives us an advantage] because playing on Thursday night means they will go to bed late and they will come into the game without being 100% fresh, so towards the end of the game hopefully we can really push forward and maybe try and win the game there.
“The pleasing thing is that we’re putting in the performances and I’ve always said if we keep playing like this we will get the points and the luck that we need.”