Arsenal go into tonight’s fixture against Sunderland knowing they must win to have any chance of finishing in the top 4 of the Premier League and qualifying for next season’s Champion League.

Arsenal are currently on a twenty season streak of qualifying for the Champions League all under the stewardship of Arsene Wenger but to make it twenty-one seasons they are going to need some help from either Liverpool or more likely Manchester City. Arsenal are currently three points behind Man City, having played the same number of games and they are four points behind Liverpool having played a game less.

Arsenal are going to have to win both of their remaining games against Sunderland tonight and against Everton on Sunday which will be the tougher of the two fixtures according to online bookies.

The Gunners are really going to need Man City to lose at least one of their two remaining matches and they will need to lose by a number of goals if the Gunners are to overcome their goal difference deficit of five goals and Arsenal will need to win both their remaining matches by a large margin.

One thing is for certain Arsenal have definitely lost the bragging rights in North London as they will finish behind arch-rivals Tottenham for the first time in many years. Last year the Gunners put together a stunning run of form to ultimately pip Spurs to second place in the Premier League as Mauricio Pochettino’s side lost to Newcastle on the last day of the season.

Looking at the game against David Moyes’ Sunderland team tonight, the Black Cats are already relegated so don’t really have much to play for other than pride and jobs next year. Sunderland should not be underestimated however as they will be able to play with great freedom and could pose a threat to Arsenal.

In the Premier League Arsenal have never lost a home match against Sunderland, winning ten games and drawing five games. In fact, Sunderland have won just one of their last twenty-six Premier League games against the Gunners, this coming in a 1-0 win way back in November of 2009 as their overall record against Arsenal is one win, nine draws and sixteen defeats.

David Moyes has lost the most to Arsene Wenger of any single manager in his Premier League career, coming out on the wrong end of the scoreline on 15 occasions.

Indeed, if Arsenal win tonight, it will be Arsene Wenger’s 20th victory in all competitions against David Moyes – more than any other manager he’s faced with Arsenal.

Arsenal have lost just one of their last sixteen Premier League matches at the Emirates Stadium winning twelve, drawing three and losing just one game, this coming against Watford (1-2) in January.

Arsenal have wins against Man United, Southampton and Stoke City in their past three Premier League games after losing the North London Derby to Spurs at White Hart Lane at the end of April.

Sunderland have failed to score in 10 of their last 15 Premier League away matches and have actually failed to score in 19 Premier League games overall this season, more than any other side.

So looking at everything when we consider the game tonight we predict a 3-1 win for the Gunners as we think Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez will provide the goals for Arsenal with Jermaine Defoe replying for Sunderland.