Sunderland stun Gunners

Bent: Hero for Black Cats

Man of the Match: Andy Reid. The Irishman has been in fine form in recent weeks and was looking dangerous again today as Sunderland broke down the left on numerous occasions, allowing Reid to whip in some great crosses.

Moment of the Match: The Stadium of Light erupted when Darren Bent's smashed the ball home from close-range. Sunderland had by no means been outplayed, but it was still a surprise when they took the lead.

Save of the Match: Arsenal almost took the lead in the opening minutes when Tomas Rosicky smashed in a close-range effort that stand-in goalkeeper Marton Fulop did well to divert away.

Talking Point: Arsenal have gained many backers due to their free-flowing, attacking play. But after being outfought by a tough, uncompromising side, will their title charge falter again?

Related links

Teams

• Arsenal
• Sunderland

Also see

• Sky Sports experts
• Transfer Centre
• Fantasy Football
• Sky Sports Twitter

A solitary strike from Darren Bent was enough to give Sunderland a shock win as Arsenal's incredible goalscoring run came to an abrupt end.

An evenly matched first half saw both sides squander chances to take the lead, with Tomas Rosicky being denied by Marton Fulop and Steed Malbranque blazing over for the hosts.

Some neat interplay between Eduardo and Alexandre Song almost produced an opener, but Song was unable to reach the Croatian's chip through for what would have been a tap-in.

The deadlock was eventually broken inside the final 20 minutes when Bent's header was deflected back into his path by Fraizer Campbell and the in-from striker made no mistake from close range.

The visitors pressured late on but were unable to find the net as Sunderland hung on to secure all three points.

The Gunners arrived on Wearside without star striker Robin van Persie whose absence, coupled with that of Nicklas Bendtner, left manager Arsene Wenger with few options in attack.

Early chance

The Frenchman opted to field Rosicky and Samir Nasri in support of lone front-man Eduardo, and that meant he still had Andrey Arshavin in reserve on the bench.

Rosicky and Nasri repeatedly linked with Eduardo and skipper Cesc Fabregas, while Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Song kept Lorik Cana and Jordan Henderson occupied in midfield.

The Gunners might have been in front as early as the fifth minute when Fabregas expertly turned Bacary Sagna's deep cross into the path of Rosicky, who forced a good save from Fulop with a well-struck volley.

Fabregas whistled a 13th minute drive just over the bar, but Fulop was a relieved man after Song and Eduardo had combined to carve their way into the penalty area with 32 minutes gone.

The pair exchanged passes on the edge of the box and Song continued his run, only to just fail to get a touch to Eduardo's shot as it trickled agonisingly wide of the post.

In the meantime, Sunderland had created two chances of their own, both of them falling to Malbranque from left wing crosses.

The first saw him fire just over from full-back George McCartney's ball in, but he skied the second high over the bar, with Andy Reid this time the provider.

Deadlock

Arsenal then continued to take the game to Sunderland, although they were still unable to penetrate the Black Cats' defence.

But Sunderland produced a flurry of their own, full-back Armand Traore just managing to cut out Henderson's 52nd minute through-ball to Bent and keeper Manuel Almunia coming from his line to claim possession with Reid putting William Gallas under intense pressure seconds later.

Almunia's goal came under threat once again five minutes later when Reid drilled a long-range free kick just wide, and the Irishman then skied a snapshot high over the bar.

Wenger's response was to replace Ramsey with Arshavin, and Bruce quickly followed suit when he withdrew Malbranque and sent on Campbell.

But it was Sunderland's newcomer who made a swift impact with 71 minutes gone, although he did not know a lot about it.

Bent's header from a Reid corner cannoned back off his legs at the far post before falling perfectly for the former Spurs striker to smash home before Almunia could get there.

Wenger immediately sent on Theo Walcott and Carlos Vela for Rosicky and Eduardo, but it was Arshavin who very nearly came to their rescue with three minutes remaining.

The midfielder reached Song's cross at the far post, but he could only direct his shot into the side-netting.

The Gunners then had an injury-time appeal for a penalty tuned down after Campbell's challenge left Vela on the floor in the area.