Keane ready for Arsenal test

Black Cats chief hopes to see improvement from team

Last updated: 3rd October 2008

Keane ready for Arsenal test

Keane: Looking forward to Saturday

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Sunderland boss Roy Keane is looking forward to the visit of Arsenal, but does not expect the Gunners to have another 'off day'.

Arsenal head to the Stadium of Light on the back of a surprise 2-1 home defeat by new boys Hull City in their last Premier League game.

Arsene Wenger's side responded to that setback by thrashing Porto in the UEFA Champions League and Keane is aware of the challenge facing his Black Cats side.

"Credit to Hull, they took advantage of Arsenal having an off day," said Keane on Sky Sports News. "Whether they can have two off games in a row in the Premier League I don't know.

"It's very, very rare for Arsenal to have lost two Premier League games back-to-back. That's the test and we've got to be looking forward to it.

"We all know they're brilliant to watch, and we know they're going to cause lots of problems. We'll have a go and see what happens."

Worked hard

Arsenal won both meetings between the clubs last season, but Keane hopes Sunderland have improved since the 1-0 home defeat on the final day of last term.

He added: "As the home team, you have to have a go through the supporters and get up and at them, but you have to get the balance right.

"The way Arsenal play, it looks like our keeper is going to be busy. They play a great style of football and have great players, that's the test we face.

"We look forward to it. We have worked extremely hard over the last year or two to be able to compete with these teams.

"We did reasonably well last year against them, even though we lost both games, and I hope we've improved from last year."