Sunderland are on course to pick up the point required to secure their Premier League safety, having held Arsenal to a goalless first half at the Emirates Stadium.

As expected, the home side saw plenty of the ball in the opening stages as their opponents happily sat back and soaked up pressure, but Arsene Wenger's men had to be patient to create their first chance of the evening.

That came with 15 minutes on the clock when the returning Jack Wilshere, who was in the side for his first start since November, raced on to Alexis Sanchez's pass and charged into the box, only for Costel Pantilimon to pounce on a loose touch and collect the ball.

Arsenal began to increase the speed of their attacking moves as the first half wore on, with Aaron Ramsey picking out Wilshere once more on the edge of the box, but the Englishman's shot ended high into the Emirates Stadium stands.

The Gunners continued to push on, coming close twice in quick succession when Sanchez's scuffed back-post effort was latched on to by Santi Cazorla, who in turn saw his shot kept out in a fairly straightforward manner by Pantilimon.

Wilshere turned creator as the interval approached, lofting a pass into the path of Mesut Ozil to blaze over, before doing likewise for Olivier Giroud, who himself failed to make the most of the opening by firing wide.

Pantilimon was called into action soon after, this time keeping out Sanchez's low drive, which was again fired in from range as Sunderland continued to restrict the Gunners, while Adam Johnson's strike deep into the opening 45 minutes sent out a warning message to Arsenal.