But the skipper is confident that his side can do a good job against a side which led the Premier League for so long this season.

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Arsene Wenger brings his side to the North East looking for them to record a last day of the season victory over Sunderland for the third time in 10 years.

But Whitehead is determined the Gunners will not be calling all the shots this weekend.

"We're not daft and we know Arsenal are a very, very good side," he told the Echo.

"It's probably going to be the case that we will not see much of the ball at times because Arsenal are exceptional when it comes to keeping possession.

"That means that we're going to have to be patient and the fans are going to have be patient.

"But I believe that we can give them a good game and look to end our season on a positive note."

Whitehead says Sunderland's defeat at Bolton Wanderers is still fresh in players' minds but does not see that having a bearing on this weekend's game.

He said: "Bolton was very disappointing for all of us because we just didn't perform on the day.

"It's hard to put your finger on exactly what went wrong but I don't think it was for want of trying – I don't think it was a case of taking our foot off the gas.

"I think that this weekend the Bolton game is forgotten.

"It's not like we're going to be dwelling on it. I think we just have to put it down to one of those days that everyone can have in football sometimes and we look to move on."

The captain says the players are looking forward to playing in front of a sell-out Stadium of Light this weekend and is hoping the fans will be the club's secret weapon.

He said: "The fans have been fantastic all season and we've got to try to give them something to shout about this weekend. They're great when they're right behind us and I think they're a big part of us doing well a home this season.

"I honestly don't think teams relish coming up to our place and we've got to make it as uncomfortable for Arsenal as we can.

"They're used to playing in front of big and hostile crowds, so I don't think it will faze them.

"But we've got to look to get our fans going, look to feed off that energy and look to get a good result.

"We haven't had a great record against the top four clubs when it comes to points on the board, but we've been close on a couple of occasions.

"It would be great if we could finish the season by doing well in front of our fans against Arsenal and get something out of the game."