Gunners host Sunderland in the race for the top four

The Gunners have been in excellent form recently. Three consecutive Premier League wins have brought them back into the race for the top four. Arsène Wenger's players also need to stay sharp because they face the new champions, Chelsea, in the FA Cup final.

Arsenal won their last three league games: against Manchester United at home and against Southampton and Stoke City away from the Emirates Stadium. They will host Sunderland in their next league match. The Black Cats are the worst team in the division, with only 24 points from 36 matches, and they have lost 13 of their 17 away games in the 2016/17 campaign. Unsurprisingly, Sunderland have already been relegated to the Championship.

The Gunners have won 7 of the last 10 meetings with Sunderland in all competitions. The last time the Black Cats won away at Arsenal was in 1983, 34 years ago. Arsenal have lost only twice at home in the 2016/17 season, and a third defeat against Sunderland looks unlikely.

Arsène Wenger's side have two Premier League games left, against Sunderland and Everton, both at the Emirates Stadium. Six points would give them a real chance of a top-four finish, and on current form they look capable of taking them.

From a betting perspective, a handicap win for Arsenal looks worth considering, as the Gunners should score plenty against the Black Cats. Over 2.5 goals is the other reasonable option.

Possible Starting XI:

Arsenal: Petr Cech; Nacho Monreal, Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi, Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding; Francis Coquelin, Mesut Ozil, Granit Xhaka, Alexis Sanchez; Olivier Giroud.

Sunderland: Jordan Pickford; John O'Shea, Billy Jones, Lamine Kone, Javier Manquillo; Darron Gibson, Sebastian Larsson, Didier Ndong, Fabio Borini; Jermain Defoe, Victor Anichebe.

How the match went

Arsenal beat Sunderland 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday 16 May 2017, although the visitors held out until well into the second half. Alexis Sánchez opened the scoring in the 72nd minute after Mesut Özil had set up the chance, and he added a second with a header nine minutes from time. The win kept Arsenal's hopes of a top-four finish alive going into the final weekend.

On the last day of the season Arsenal beat Everton 3-1. Héctor Bellerín scored early, Sánchez doubled the lead before half-time, Romelu Lukaku pulled one back from the penalty spot and Aaron Ramsey sealed the win in stoppage time. Results elsewhere did not go their way, however. Arsenal finished fifth with 75 points, one behind fourth-placed Liverpool, and ended outside the top four for the first time in Arsène Wenger's reign, which had begun in 1996.

How the season ended

The FA Cup gave Arsenal some consolation. They had reached the final by beating Manchester City 2-1 after extra time in the semi-final at Wembley, with Nacho Monreal equalising and Sánchez scoring the winner in the 101st minute. In the final, also at Wembley, on 27 May 2017 they beat Chelsea 2-1. Sánchez scored after four minutes, Chelsea's Victor Moses was sent off for a second yellow card, Diego Costa equalised in the 76th minute and Ramsey headed the winner three minutes later. It was a record 13th FA Cup for Arsenal and a seventh for Wenger, making him the most successful manager in the history of the competition.

For Sunderland the season had already been decided. Their relegation was confirmed on 29 April 2017, when Josh King's 88th-minute goal gave Bournemouth a 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light with four games still to play. That ended a ten-year stay in the top flight. Sunderland finished bottom with 24 points from 38 matches, having won six, drawn six and lost 26. Jermain Defoe was their top scorer with 15 league goals. Manager David Moyes resigned on 22 May 2017, the day after the season ended.