Arsenal could see their hopes of securing Champions League football for next season dashed when they host Sunderland on Tuesday evening.

With three points separating the Gunners from Manchester City in fourth, they require maximum points from the already-relegated Black Cats and Everton to catch either them or Liverpool.

Arsene Wenger also needs Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s teams to draw or lose their final two fixtures in order to give the north Londoners a chance of sneaking into the top four.

Arsenal have endured what can only be described as a disappointing season, especially when they lost just twice in all competitions until midway through December.

But it all unravelled for the Emirates faithful during the early stages of 2017 when a period of humiliating results ramped up calls for Wenger to be axed.

However, the Frenchman is yet to reveal whether he will remain at the club beyond this season – a situation has potentially distracted his players for almost the entire second half of the campaign.

Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has suggested the uncertainty surrounding Wenger’s future has preoccupied the squad to some extent despite their best intentions.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Koscielny said: “It is a difficult situation when you don’t know what is happening with the boss but you are professional.

“We are players of this club and we just want to have the best results, not to think about our situation or the situation of the boss.

“We are all in the same boat and the top thing is Arsenal. Maybe some players don’t feel great but we need to be focused on our job and not worry about Arsene.

“I don’t know [if there are signs that Wenger will leave]. Sometimes I could say yes and sometimes I could say no so I think we will respect his decision.

"He has given a lot to this club during 20 years and done an unbelievable job so we need to respect this and we will respect his decision at the end of the season.”

A place in the Champions League next season would go a long way to preserving Wenger’s legacy at the club, but failure could make his position all but untenable in the eyes of some.

However, depending on what is made of Koscielny’s comments about the 67-year-old’s conduct regarding his future, perhaps not even qualification for Europe’s elite competition will save his job.