Sunderland defender Matthew Kilgallon says they cannot afford to stand back and admire Arsenal's passing game this weekend.

The former Sheffield United man says getting in Arsenal's faces will be key to preventing what would be the Gunners' 11th home success of the campaign.

"We know we've got to stop them passing the ball and get amongst them," he told safc.com. "We can't let them get their passing game going and we will have to work hard as a back four."

Meanwhile, Kilgallon admits he's been taken aback by the warmth of the welcome in the north east. "The fans are mad up here and it's nice to see," he said.

"They are very vocal and get behind us, which spurs me on out on the pitch."