"Moving on up may come with a lot of money, but the teams the newbies join have that money and more, which is why it's so devilishly hard for a newly promoted side to stay up. To use the most recent example, last season's promoted trio all went straight back down to the Championship, and Sunderland's fellow promotees this time around, Burnley and Leeds United, find themselves in the thick of the relegation battle. Sunderland, though, is nowhere near that morass."
"Sunderland wisely invested the aforementioned bounty that came with getting back into the Prem after eight years away, and its active summer transfer window has reshaped the roster into one capable of drawing with the mighty Arsenal -and score two goals in the process, something no team had done to the Gunners all season, in any competition-and occupy the upper fifth of the table totally on merit."
Sunderland sits fourth after 11 matches with a 5-4-2 record and 18 points, entering top-four contention. Promotion usually brings financial boost but also fierce competition, and recent promoted teams often return to the Championship. Sunderland's fellow promotees Burnley and Leeds occupy relegation trouble, while Sunderland has avoided that fate. The club invested transfer funds after an eight-year absence from the Premier League and reshaped the roster through an active summer window. Sunderland drew with Arsenal and scored two goals against them, and the team has relied primarily on defensive solidity, ranking as the second-best defense by most metrics.
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