Unexpected delay on south coast won't affect Sunderland ahead of Arsenal clash, says David Moyes

The Black Cats’ players and staff had been due to fly back to the North East immediately after Wednesday night’s 1-0 defeat to Southampton in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.

However, because of the thick fog, they were unable to fly back from Bournemouth airport and were forced to stay an extra night on the south coast, back in Southampton.

The players did their recovery session the following morning and then flew back later in the day.

Moyes insists while it was not the usual preparation, it won’t affect them ahead of the Arsenal game at the Stadium of Light this lunchtime.

"No, I don’t think it has had an impact," said Moyes.

"It was a bit complicated at the time because of the fog, which meant we couldn’t fly from Bournemouth so had to go back to Southampton to the hotel.

"The players went to their beds for 1am, slept and then we had a recovery session and breakfast and then came back up the road.

"It was a bit of a change but it was fine."

Preparations continued at the Academy of Light on Friday, with Adnan Januzaj and Jason Denayer both back training after ankle ligament and adductor injuries, respectively.

Meanwhile, Lee Cattermole is back running too after a back problem. There is no timescale on his return, though.

"Cattermole has been out running, that is good news," said Moyes.

"Adnan and Jason joined in training again. Jason, I think the game will come too quick. Adnan, could he possibly make the bench? We’ll have to wait and see how he looks and how his ankle is.

"He has come back a lot quicker than first expected."