PAOLO DI CANIO has plans for a summer of change at the Stadium of Light, but one of Sunderland's newest recruits hopes Simon Mignolet does not form part of the club's close-season transfer business.

Mignolet was once again the most impressive performer during Sunday's 1-1 draw with Southampton, when his saves spared the Black Cats from a defeat which could yet prove decisive.

Arsenal and Manchester United are among the clubs to have regularly ran the rule over the 25-year-old, with many expecting there could even be a bid for his services in the summer.

Mignolet would be difficult to replace and Di Canio will be in no rush to offload his goalkeeper despite the big ideas he has to reshape the squad before the start of next season.

That is good news according to N'Diaye, who has realised in his first few months in the North-East that the goalkeeper is already better than Arsenal's Polish shot-stopper Wojciech Szczesny.

"Simon is a quality keeper. When I came here I had not seen him or heard of him, but every time he plays he is fantastic. The quality is there for all to see," said N'Diaye.

"I can understand why he has been linked with other teams because this is normal. It is very normal for that to happen when you play as well as he does. He is better than the keeper at Arsenal, Szczesny, he is better than him - no doubt about it.

"Mignolet was brilliant against Southampton and he is like that every week. He is such a good keeper and that is why he is being linked with other clubs."

Regardless of what division Sunderland are in next season - if Wigan fail to win at Arsenal tonight then the Wearside club will be safe going in to the final weekend - Di Canio is looking to shape the squad to his own liking.

After Sunday's draw with the Saints, the Italian described how the atmosphere around the club was "dead" when he first arrived following Martin O'Neill's sacking and promised to "change everything".

Di Canio feels he needs to bring in more players with greater physical strength and versatility to suit the direction the modern game is heading in. N'Diaye, one of O'Neill's last buys when he moved from Bursaspor for £3.8m in January, can understand why he is on the look out for new players.

"We have good players here, but I think we need more," said N'Diaye. "I don't know what we should do this summer, but really first and foremost we have to stay up, then look around us and see what we should do.

"I really think we should be much higher up the league than this. West Brom and Swansea are in the top half of the table and we should be where they are as we are as good as them.

"That is where we should be aiming. It's not for me to say what we should do, that's up to the coach, but all teams need more players and that is maybe what is required."

Sunderland have found themselves battling against relegation for the majority of the campaign, even though N'Diaye only arrived in English football half way through the campaign.

The Frenchman, whose own performances have improved in recent games, thinks the fact Sunderland have taken eight points from six matches under Di Canio offers reason for optimism - if they show the fight which deserted them against the Saints.

"We have to always go out there with a lot of aggression because that is what works for us," he said. " We have to fight a lot more than what we did, we didn't have that aggression on Sunday. We can now only hope it is enough, although we still have our own destiny in our hands."

With Arsenal needing the points to boost their chances of pipping Tottenham to the fourth and final Champions League spot, Wigan will have a tough task on their hands tonight just days after winning the FA Cup at Wembley.

N'Diaye said: "We have to hope Arsenal do well against Wigan. Both are very good teams, but Arsenal are going for the Champions League so you would hope that they will get a result. If they beat Wigan we are safe. But if they lose, we can still beat Spurs and stay up on the last day.

"Wigan have shown so many times how to beat teams, so it is not over. It is a hard game for Arsenal, but it is a crucial game for both teams which makes me hope Arsenal will do it."

After Sunderland's last game at Tottenham, three of their players will head off with the Republic of Ireland later to face England. John O'Shea, James McClean and Keiren Westwood have all been included in the squad to face England on May 29.