Sunderland midfielder Craig Gardner has said that his side did not deserve to lose to Arsenal last weekend ahead of their FA Cup rematch this afternoon.

The Black Cats, who host Arsene Wenger's men for the second weekend in a row, will be eager to bounce back after conceding a last-minute goal to the Gunners in a late turnaround at the Stadium of Light.

"Arsenal are one of the biggest names in the English game and their record speaks for itself," Gardner told the Sunderland Echo. "But we felt we didn't deserve to lose last week's game.

"We worked so hard as a team during the game. We created chances and to lose it like we did, in the last minute, was unfortunate.

"We thought we deserved at least a draw and to be honest, after taking the lead with just 20 minutes to go, we might have won it."

Meanwhile, Sunderland are in ninth place in the Premier League, 12 points clear of the relegation places.