Arsenal v Sunderland

Sunderland arrived having claimed three of the first four league titles; the Football League's own founder called them the Team of All Talents.

Arsenal, then known as Woolwich Arsenal and based in south-east London, faced Sunderland in the First Division for the first time during the 1893-94 season. Sunderland were the dominant force in English football at the time, having won three of the first four league championships. The Wearsiders had been dubbed the 'Team of All Talents' by William McGregor, the founder of the Football League himself.

Highbury gave Arsenal a new postcode; Sunderland gave them a title-winning rival to match it.

Arsenal relocated from Plumstead to Highbury in north London, a move that would transform the club's fortunes and eventually make this a true north-south fixture. Sunderland, meanwhile, continued to be a major force, winning the league title in 1913. The two clubs were now established rivals at the top of the English game, though the First World War would soon interrupt proceedings for four years.

Arsenal and Sunderland regularly traded blows at the top of the table, their fixtures genuinely shaping the destination of the title.

The 1930s were the golden age for both clubs. Arsenal, under Herbert Chapman and then George Allison, won five league titles between 1931 and 1938. Sunderland claimed their sixth and final championship in 1936, with the two sides regularly trading blows at the top of the table. Their meetings during this era drew enormous crowds to Highbury and Roker Park alike, fixtures that genuinely shaped the destination of the title.

A Second Division side lifting the FA Cup proved that Sunderland's habit of defying the odds was no passing fashion.

Sunderland's astonishing 1973 FA Cup victory, as a Second Division side beating Leeds United in the final, remains one of football's great upsets. While Arsenal were not the opponents that day, the result underlined Sunderland's enduring capacity to punch above their weight. The two clubs had spent periods in different divisions during the post-war decades, making their meetings less frequent but no less keenly contested when they did occur.

Roker Park's 99-year story ended in 1997; Wenger had already begun reshaping Arsenal the previous autumn. Two transitions, a year apart, reframed the fixture entirely.

Sunderland's promotion to the Premier League in 1996 brought regular fixtures against Arsenal back to the calendar. The Wearsiders had also moved to the Stadium of Light in 1997, leaving Roker Park behind after 99 years. Arsenal, under Arsène Wenger from September 1996, were entering their most transformative period. The fixture now carried a distinctly modern edge: Wenger's fluid, continental football against Sunderland's robust, passionate approach.

Thirty league goals in a single season; Phillips did not merely trouble Arsenal, he haunted them.

Peter Reid's Sunderland side finished seventh in 1999-2000, their best top-flight finish in decades, with Kevin Phillips scoring 30 Premier League goals to win the European Golden Shoe. Phillips was a particular menace against Arsenal, and Sunderland's results at Highbury during this period were far better than most visiting sides could manage. The fixture became a genuine test for Wenger's title challengers.

A 60,000-seat cathedral of corporate comfort made every Sunderland visit to north London feel genuinely hard-won.

Arsenal's move to the 60,704-capacity Emirates Stadium in 2006 gave this fixture a grander stage. The new ground's corporate hospitality facilities transformed the matchday experience, with premium seats and private boxes offering a very different proposition to the old Highbury terraces. Sunderland's yo-yo years between the Premier League and Championship meant the fixture was not always guaranteed, making each visit to the Emirates feel like an occasion worth savouring.

Sunderland nicked a stoppage-time equaliser at the Emirates in 2012; proof, if any were needed, that their visits to north London rarely lacked drama.

In February 2012, Sunderland came from behind to draw 2-2 at the Emirates in stoppage time, a result that typified the fixture's capacity for drama. Throughout the early 2010s, Sunderland were regular visitors to north London, surviving in the Premier League season after season despite perennial relegation battles. Their travelling support, always vocal and always numerous, made these matches some of the most atmospheric of the Emirates calendar.

A 2-0 farewell at the Emirates closed the chapter; what followed made Sunderland famous worldwide all over again.

Sunderland's relegation from the Premier League in 2017, followed by a further drop to League One in 2018, meant the fixture disappeared from the calendar entirely. Arsenal won the final Premier League meeting 2-0 at the Emirates in May 2017. The Black Cats' subsequent journey through the lower divisions was documented in the Netflix series 'Sunderland 'Til I Die', which brought the club a new global audience and underlined the depth of passion on Wearside.

Six league titles apiece and 130 years of shared history; this fixture deserves its place back at the top.

Sunderland's return to the Championship in 2022 and their continued push for promotion has raised the prospect of this fixture returning to the Premier League. Arsenal, now title contenders under Mikel Arteta, would offer a very different challenge to the one Sunderland last faced. When the two do meet again at the Emirates, it will be a reunion of two clubs with six league titles apiece and over 130 years of shared history in the English top flight.