What has surprised Sunderland's Dan Ballard since his summer transfer from Arsenal

The 23-year-old joined the Black Cats on a three-year deal from Arsenal in the summer, having not made a senior appearance for The Gunners.

Ballard did play regularly during loan spells at Blackpool and Millwall, though, but says there’s a difference at Sunderland.

“I think I was surprised by the support from the fans,” Ballard told the Echo. “Especially the away games with Sunderland being quite far away and it being hard to travel that long way.

“There is a lot more expectation and it does give you that extra boost.

“You really want to do it for the fans because they love the club and I’ve not really felt that at other teams I’ve been at. You want to win for them.”

After missing four months of the season with a foot injury at the start of the campaign, Ballard has now started 18 consecutive games for Sunderland in all competitions.

The defender has also formed an effective centre-back partnership with Danny Batth in recent weeks, despite the lack of a natural holding midfielder playing in front of them.

Sunderland head coach Tony Mowbray would prefer his side to dominate possession, yet there have been games, such as the Black Cats’ 1-0 win at Norwich City, when the side have looked more solid without the ball, providing more space for attacking players such as Patrick Roberts and Jack Clarke to run into.

“At Norwich we felt, me and DB especially, we felt really comfortable and didn’t feel like they would score,” Ballard added.

“We had probably more help around in the deeper area of the pitch, and it gives the likes of Clarky and Pat a lot more space to go and work.

“When other teams sit behind the ball we have found it tough to break them down because sides in the Championship are very organised, they work really hard and there is a bit more space to work their magic.”