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LONDON. — Arsene Wenger on Wednesday night admitted he is worried about burnout ahead of the FA Cup soccer final.

The Gunners boss saw his players fire blanks as they failed to score for the third home game running against Sunderland and they look as if they are stumbling their way into third place.

They should have enough already because of their superior goal difference over Manchester United but can guarantee automatic Champions League qualification with a point against West Brom on Sunday.

But the deeper fear for Wenger is that his players appear to have run out of gas after a gruelling season and yet they still have the FA Cup final against Aston Villa the following Saturday.

Wenger said: “It’s a bit worrying for the cup final. But there’s still nearly two weeks to go. I don’t know if I will rest some players on Sunday but it’s possible.

“We lack a bit of sharpness at the moment, the way we prepare our chances and our finishing as well.”

Sunderland produced a gutsy rearguard action to preserve their English Premier League status with a tense 0-0 draw against Arsenal on Wednesday.

Dick Advocaat’s side knew a point at the Emirates Stadium would be enough to guarantee their survival and they achieved that goal with an obdurate defensive display that kept Arsenal at bay despite a barrage of pressure from the hosts.

Superbly marshalled by holding midfielder Lee Cattermole and central defenders Sebastian Coates and John O’Shea, Sunderland still needed a fine performance from goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon to emerge unscathed.

The Black Cats, now four points clear of third bottom Hull, can start planning for next season instead of nervously facing a decisive trip to champions Chelsea in Sunday’s final round of fixtures.

“Arsenal were the better side but our organisation was unbelievably good. The emotion was so high,” said Advocaat, who left the pitch crying tears of joy at full-time. — AFP.