Former Sunderland hero Julio Arca is a huge admirer of the brand of attacking football his old club is playing under Tony Mowbray - and hopes his South Shields side can pick up some pointers this weekend. Arca is gearing up for his first home game in charge of the Mariners, having succeeded another Black Cats legend in Kevin Phillips at the helm of the newly-promoted National League North side over the summer.
And that first home game sees Sunderland visit a sold-out 1st Cloud Arena on Saturday lunchtime, with Mowbray's side facing their first pre-season outing while Shields will be playing their second friendly having beaten Newton Aycliffe 2-0 in midweek. "This will be my first home game in charge and it is great to come up against Sunderland and to see Tony," said Arca, who became a crowd favourite during his six years on Wearside as a player before leaving for Middlesbrough where he later played under Mowbray.
"I'm sure we'll have our highest-ever gate, beating the record against Forest Green in the FA Cup first round last season, so it will not only be good from an opposition point of view but also financially. Ideally, I would have liked to have played them later in pre-season but the game was already agreed.
"We go into the game needing to work on our fitness and sharpness, but it is the same for Sunderland too. I really like the style of football Sunderland play under Tony, and I hope our players learn from that.
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"I saw Sunderland a few times last season and I think that the football they played was some of the best played there for quite a long time. Even when I was there as a player, I can't remember Sunderland playing that kind of passing football with a lot of rotations, playing it out from the back, playing without strikers, dropping players into different positions.
"That shows that, regardless of the injury problems you have in a team, you can get it right if you implement a philosophy and the players buy into it. I'd love to see my players play that kind of style and I think you can do it at any level, although the pitches in non-league aren't quite so good in the winter!
"We'll see how well we can compete with Sunderland because they are several leagues above us, but sometimes you learn more when you play against teams like that than when you play teams further down the leagues. You learn more against better teams."
Shields is the first game of a double-header for Sunderland on Saturday, with the Black Cats then heading for the International Stadium to take on Gateshead in the afternoon. Mowbray intends to mix things up by fielding sides in those games which each comprise a blend of first-team and academy players.
Arca said: "I know Sunderland are playing Gateshead on the same day so I'm not sure who will be in the side that plays against us. We're expecting a mixed team from Sunderland but even with younger lads from their U21s it's still going to be very challenging for our players"
Shields represents Arca's first managerial job and he is looking forward to the challenge at a club he knows well having ended his playing career with the Mariners where he helped the club to three promotions and three cup wins. "I'm really excited by the challenge of managing here," said the Argentine, whose assistant at Shields is former Sunderland midfielder Tommy Miller.
"There's a lot to do but the foundations are there and the chairman is happy to keep on providing the funds, so it looks good. We'll see how it goes this season because it will be tough in a higher league.
"It won't be a case of running away with this league and I think people know that - the higher you get, the harder it gets!"
