Arsenal welcome relegated Sunderland to the Emirates Stadium for the penultimate clash of the season on Tuesday (16 May).

Where to watch live

Kick-off is set for 7.45pm BST. Live TV coverage will be available on Sky Sports 2 and 2 HD.

Overview

Arsenal continue their quest to make it to the top four of the Premier League when they take on Sunderland, who have already been relegated to the Championship. The Gunners, who are in fifth place at the moment, need to win their last two games of the season against the Black Cats and Everton and hope one of the teams above them – Manchester City and Liverpool – drop points in their final games.

If Arsene Wenger's side miss out on a place in the top four and thus fail to qualify for the Champions League next season, it will be for the first time since the French coach took charge of the club in 1996. Arsenal will be in a buoyant mood going into the game having recorded three back-to-back victories in the Premier League, but they are likely to be without Laurent Koscielny, who suffered a recurrence of his calf injury during the win over Stoke City on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger confirmed that Laurent Koscielny is a doubt for Arsenal's game against Sunderland Reuters

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the other casualty after the midfielder-turned-wing-back picked up a hamstring injury during the win over Southampton. He is likely to miss the rest of the season, but Wenger is hoping to have him for the FA Cup final against Chelsea on 27 May.

Sunderland, on the other hand, will only be playing for pride and hope to win their final two games before they go down to the Championship ahead of next season. David Moyes has confirmed that he will remain as the manager next season, and hope to bring them back to the top flight in the first attempt.

Sunderland have lost more games than any other side this season and face Arsenal and Chelsea in their final two games of the campaign. Moyes will be hoping for strong performances from his side to end what has been a miserable season, in the hope of taking some confidence going into the Championship next season.

Match Stat: Sunderland have won just one of their last 26 Premier League fixtures against the Gunners, this coming in a 1-0 win back in November 2009.

What Managers Say

Arsene Wenger: No team is absolutely consistent on the mental and physical front. Every team suffers a moment in the season. I think we suffered a lot when we went out of the Champions League under special circumstances. If you look at just the first halves, we would have qualified.

"Would 75 points be progress? I don't want to go into conclusions too early but it shows that if we can make 75 points it is good because I won the championship with 78. You had basically two leagues, with the top six and everyone else," via the Mirror.

Betting Odds (betfair)

  • Arsenal win: 1/8
  • Draw: 10
  • Sunderland win: 28

Arsenal

Possible XI: Cech; Holding, Mustafi, Monreal; Bellerin, Ramsey, Xhaka, Gibbs; Ozil, Sanchez, Welbeck.

Sunderland

Possible XI: Pickford; Manquillo, Jones, Kone, O'Shea; Denayer, Larsson, Ndong; Anichebe, Defoe, Borini.