The Black Cats boss has returned from a holiday break in the Carribean ready to begin plotting the downfall of another top four team.

And the first move he will make is to restore the skipper to central midfield.

Cana was forced to miss the game at Spurs earlier this month as he served out a one-match suspension for accumulating five yellow cards.

But the Sunderland skipper is a shoo-in to go straight back into the side which takes on their North London rivals at the Stadium of Light this Saturday.

When available, Cana and his midfield partner Lee Cattermole are the first names on the manager's team sheet – he rates them that highly.

And Bruce admits he had to pinch himself over the summer when he discovered that the 26-year-old captain of Marseille was being made available for transfer.

With incoming manager Didier Deschamps wanting to remodel their style of play, Cana was allowed to leave and Sunderland were in instantly and delighted to get the top quality midfielder for just £5m.

"He's been everything I wanted him to be when I first signed him, and a little bit more," said Bruce.

"He's a good footballer, and that's something that gets overlooked because everyone talks about how solidly he tackles."

This week the Albanian will come up against Arsenal, a club he was strongly linked with when it was said the one thing the Gunners were lacking was a midfield enforcer in the Patrick Vieira mould.

But Arsene Wenger at the Emirates and Rafa Benitez at Anfield failed to follow up their initial interest and their loss has been Sunderland's gain.

Now Cana is relishing the opportunity he has been given in the Premier League and on Saturday, he and Sunderland will face a real test of their credentials as they take on one of the most free-flowing football sides in Europe, never mind the Premier League.

Sunderland's hopes of adding another scalp to to that of Liverpool – who were beaten 1-0 at the Stadium of Light last month – have been boosted though, by the fact that Arsenal will be without leading scorer Robin van Persie for this weekend's game.