Elliott Dickman is aware of the task that lies ahead for his Sunderland side tonight at Arsenal.
The young Black Cats resume their Premier League 2 campaign this evening at the Emirates, kick-off 7pm, looking to claw themselves away from the foot of the table.
Dickman’s side secured credible draws at Manchester City and Chelsea last month but face another tough encounter tonight at Arsenal, who will have one eye on closing the gap on leaders Liverpool.
“You don’t know what kind of team they were going to put out because they have got some talented young players,” Dickman told safc.com.
“No matter what team they put out it is going to be a difficult game because they are playing in the Europa League.
“It is a big challenge and we have got to make sure we prepare as well as we can to go down there and give a good account of ourselves.
“It is great for the lads to be playing against these sides.
“We know there aren’t any poor sides in this division so every week we are coming up against a competitive team,” he continued.
“We have managed to score more goals but we know we need to do it more often.
“The lads are competitive, they work hard and they seem to understand what is required when they don’ have the ball better than before.”