Arsenal recorded a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Sunderland to keep up with the pace at the top of the Premier League.
Bendtner scores early before Fabregas seals points in injury time
Arsenal recorded a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium to keep up with the pace at the top of the Premier League.
Nicklas Bendtner put the Gunners ahead in the 27th minute with a simple tap-in from Emmanuel Eboue's cross.
Arsene Wenger's side then dominated possession but Sunderland had their own chances, with Kenwyne Jones shooting wide when clean through in the first period, while Manuel Almunia had to save from Darren Bent after the restart.
But the Gunners finally killed off the game when Cesc Fabregas scored an injury-time penalty after he had been felled by Frazier Campbell on the edge of the box.
The win sees Arsenal remain six points behind Chelsea, while Sunderland have now not won in 13 league attempts and are just three points above the drop zone.
Theo Walcott may not yet have secured his seat on England's World Cup plane to South Africa but he put in a spirited performance in front of England manager Fabio Capello.
Walcott produced pace and menace, causing Steve Bruce to swap Anton Ferdinand with George McCartney at left-back in the first period, although his final ball sometimes left something to be desired.
Anxious
At the other end, Wenger had been anxious to stress his support for Lukasz Fabianski after the young Polish goalkeeper's two howlers had sunk the Gunners in their UEFA Champions League defeat against Porto in midweek, but it did not stretch to keeping him in the side.
He went for the experience of 34-year-old Almunia, who was back after passing a fitness test on an injured finger, while Sol Campbell, whose backpass also contributed to the Gunners' downfall, started on the bench.
But if the disappointment of Portugal lingered then it did not show. Arsenal were quicker to the ball, Fabregas and Aaron Ramsey seizing control in midfield with their slide-rule passing and pretty patterns.
Walcott announced his desire as early as the fourth minute, sprinting past Sunderland full-back McCartney like an Olympic finalist - which is not that far-fetched, considering he has been timed at a hand-held 10.2 seconds for 100m.
McCartney must have wondered then if it had been a good idea to get out of bed this particular Saturday.
The answer came time and again over the next few minutes as Walcott tempted him in and then left him in his wake in a straight foot race.
Mysteries
Quite how Sunderland went in only one goal down in that first half is one of life's little mysteries.
The opening goal came courtesy of a slaloming run from Eboue, with the Sunderland defence standing off him before he hit a precision pass across the box which found Bendtner loitering in cavernous space at the far post.
Bendtner may have scored easier goals but it is doubtful.
McCartney then deflected a Samir Nasri shot over the crossbar and somehow diverted a Bendtner left-foot blast on to the bar, with Craig Gordon gathering the rebound.
At the other end, Almunia saved from Campbell, while Jones shot wide from just outside the box when clean through with only the Arsenal keeper to beat.
But for the most part Bruce's side were out-thought, out-manoeuvred and out-played and were also somewhat fortunate to finish with a full complement after captain Lorik Cana launched a two-footed tackle which felled Eboue.
Referee Steve Bennett produced a yellow card, but it could easily have been red.
The second half was more of the same, Arsenal flooding forward, full of spark.
Walcott brought a fine save from Gordon, Thomas Vermaelen hit a free-kick pile-driver straight at the Sunderland keeper and chances were made and squandered in equal measure.
But Arsenal almost paid the price - and would have done if it was not for the quick thinking of Almunia, who raced out to smother a Bent shot when the striker was clean through, after he had tussled for the ball with Mikael Silvestre.
But in injury-time Fabregas was brought down by Campbell on the edge of the area and the Spaniard, forever Arsenal's orchestrator, got up to tap home the second from the spot to seal the vital three points.
| Arsenal |
Team Statistics |
Sunderland |
| 2 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 7 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 9 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 8 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 7 |
Corners |
1 |
| 9 |
Fouls |
12 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
5 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 81.6 |
Passing Success |
62.5 |
| 19 |
Tackles |
22 |
| 73.7 |
Tackles Success |
63.6 |
| 68.9 |
Possession |
31.1 |
| 58.7 |
Territorial Advantage |
41.3 |
|
