FORMER Southend United goalkeeper Steve Arnold cannot wait to make his first Roots Hall return tomorrow.

The popular ex Shrimpers shot-stopper looks set to line up between the sticks for Sutton United in this weekend’s National League clash.

And Arnold is relishing what he expects to be a strange afternoon against his old team.

“It’s going to be my first time back since I left and it was the first fixture I looked for when they came out if I’m honest,” said Arnold.

“I’m really excited to see the gaffer and everyone else but it will be strange too.

“I was only there for a season playing really but it felt like longer.

“It’s hard to explain but I’m buzzing for it.

“I’m not sure what kind of reaction I will get but I thrive on playing in a good atmosphere with lots of fans.

“It switches you on and it will be good to be back.”

Arnold made 53 appearances during a two year spell with the Shrimpers.

But he was forced to leave at the end of the 2022/23 season as a transfer embargo meant Kevin Maher was unable to offer him a new deal.

“At the time I’d just had my second child and the embargo happened when I was out of contract,” recalled Arnold.

“I had two kids under two and there was no guarantee of getting any money.

“It was such a hard decision and I can still picture being with the gaffer in the hotel talking about it.

“I explained about the offer from Sutton and asked what we could do.

“It really should have been a no brainer when you looked at the circumstances but it really wasn’t because of how the club was.

“It was a really really tough decision but I had to do it ultimately for my family and for me as well.”

Arnold has now become a regular starter for Sutton.

And he is enjoying his football with Steve Morison’s side despite last season’s relegation from the Football League.

"It's similar to Southend in terms of the community side and the fans are really trying to build that up,” said Arnold.

“On the field, we’ve had a sticky situation since I've been in.

“The manager who bought me in got sacked last year and I didn't play an awful lot.

“The new gaffer, Steve Morison, came in and really tried to change things around.

“He bought real emphasis onto the playing side and we're really starting to see that now.

“We got relegated last year but he put me in the team with about 20 games to go and we had a really good run.

“We just missed out on staying up on the last game of the season.”

And Arnold remains determined to bounce back from that disappointment.

“We had a decent start but we've hit a sticky pitch after that,” said Arnold.

“We've had two or three losses on the bounce but we're a young team and it's about how we react.

“Saturday will be interesting.”

Sutton arrive at Roots Hall sitting 17th in the table.

And Arnold is excited to be returning to a stadium where he has so many happy memories.

"I look back really fondly at Southend, said the 35-year-old.

"I was only there two years and the second year I had quite a bad injury.

"Being honest it was probably the worst time in the club's history with how low they were as a team and club and with the protests.

“But I look back on it so fondly and I think that's testament to the fans and how good they were because they were unreal towards me.

“We were getting 7,000 even when we were struggling and I only have good memories from being there.