THEY might only have played four games together, but Kenwyne Jones has claimed that his partnership with Michael Chopra has the potential to be one the success stories of Sunderland's season.

The duo linked impressively in last month's 2-1 win over Reading - a game that included Jones' first Black Cats goal following a £6m move from Southampton - and while neither player found the target in subsequent matches against Middlesbrough and Blackburn, much of their link-up play continued to catch the eye.

Given their considerable height difference, the pair have been compared with Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips, a 'little and large' strike pairing that took Sunderland to the top of the Premier League table.

Although Jones accepts it will take time for his partnership with Chopra to fully flourish, he is confident it already has the making of an effective front two.

"I think we've done well as a partnership so far," said the Trinidad & Tobago international, ahead of Sunday's daunting trip to league leaders Arsenal.

"The relationship can only get stronger, but I think it's a partnership that can work, one that can produce some good things for the club.

"It can take time to form a new partnership, so I'm sure we'll see things get even better over the coming months.

"I like playing with Michael. It's a classic little and large partnership and we do complement each other. I hope it can grow into something special and that we can both make the club proud."

Like the majority of Roy Keane's summer signings, both Jones and Chopra were plying their trade in the Championship last season.

Danny Higginbotham, Paul McShane and Dickson Etuhu also arrived on Wearside after spending the previous 12 months in English football's second tier and, on more than one occasion this season, Sunderland's lack of Premier League experience has counted against them.

The Black Cats were punished for two defensive errors as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat to Blackburn last weekend, mistakes they might have got away with in the Championship.

Jones admits that the opening six weeks of the season have been something of an eye-opener for the Sunderland squad, but expects the naÃve mistakes of the past to become less and less prevalent as time goes on.

"We've produced some performances that have been quite good," explained the striker.

"But I think our lack of experience in the Premier League is costing us points at the moment. I hope that as the season goes on we will get stronger.

"We are all trying to catch on as quickly as possible to what the Premier League is all about. It's true that you get punished for things in the Premier League when it might not be the case in the Championship.

"It's the same whenever you step up a league, it's always different. It's happening to us, there's no denying it. I just hope we can start to stamp it out and make the most of this season."

Any errors are likely to be severely punished this weekend at the Emirates Stadium with Arsenal winning 11 of their 12 matches in all competitions since the start of the season.

Jones does not, however, believe Sunderland are travelling to London for a forlorn cause.

"Arsenal have been the best team to watch for a long time," he said. "It doesn't matter whether they're winning or losing, it's still great to watch them because their football is fantastic.

"I don't think what they're doing now is anything different to what they've done before. We know what they can do, but if we go there and do what we can do, we'll have a chance of getting the points."

Sunderland defender Nyron Nosworthy has received a surprise call-up to the Jamaica squad for the Caribbean nation's forthcoming friendlies with Ghana and Honduras.