Premier League: Bent sinks Gunners, Blues cruise

Darren Bent did not need a beach-ball this time but Sunderland claimed another big scalp with a 1-0 defeat of Arsenal at the Stadium of Light. That said, Bent's goal again owed something to good fortune.

GettyImages

Sunderland striker Darren Bent scores the winning goal for his side.

• Palmer: Cole shines in Chelsea stroll
• Jolly: United's midfield on target

When a missed header rebounded off a Sunderland team-mate Fraizer Campbell's shins, Bent poked home from six yards. Arsene Wenger, with one fit striker in Eduardo, must be rueing his long list of injuries, especially the ankle injury sustained by Robin van Persie during international week.

Bent has now scored against all of the "big four" clubs this season and continues to push for an England place.

Manchester United moved up to second as they beat Everton 3-0 at Old Trafford. Darren Fletcher opened the scoring with a stunning strike from just outside the box and United never looked like losing once the Scot had fired home.

Michael Carrick crashed in a second after Michael Owen had spurned a good chance and Antonio Valencia kept up his recent good form with a deflected shot that sealed all three points for United. The Red Devils now move into second, but Everton remain in the bottom half after yet another dismal performance.

Liverpool and Manchester City shared a 2-2 draw that was little use to either of their managers. Mark Hughes' City have now drawn six games in a row while Rafael Benitez's Liverpool have now won one game in ten outings. After a drab first half in which the talking points were Daniel Agger (suspected concussion) and Ryan Babel (ankle) adding to Liverpool's lengthy injury list, the second 45 minutes served up goals, if not quality defending.

Emmanuel Adebayor seemed to be the last player the ball came off for Liverpool's opener though Martin Skrtel claimed it but then the Slovak defender left the Togolese striker to nod in City's equaliser on 69 minutes. Stephen Ireland put City ahead (76) before Yossi Benayoun, on as a sub for Babel by virtue of recovering from injury via that infamous horse placenta treatment, equalised just sixty seconds later. Liverpool held the momentum but could not get the goal they needed to end their sorry run of results.

Few expected Wolves to get a result at Chelsea with bookmakers offering odds of 23/1 that they beat the Blues, despite a lengthy injury list for Carlo Ancelotti's men. Perhaps Mick McCarthy expected more resistance from his team but after Florent Malouda's fifth-minute opener, the die was cast and the league leaders strolled to an easy 4-0 victory. A Michael Essien double and a Joe Cole strike compounded the McCarthy misery but this game may be best remembered as the first appearance of Gael Kakuta, the young Frenchman at the heart of Chelsea's currently suspended transfer ban.

The battle of the Clarets at Turf Moor saw Burnley denied another big win over a Premier League establishment club when Emile Heskey grabbed a late equaliser for Aston Villa to cancel out a goal from Steven Caldwell. Heskey's goal came as a result of a Brian Jensen mistake which James Milner had pounced upon to set up his England colleague.

Birmingham City do not score many goals so the single strike that did for Fulham is one to be celebrated at St Andrews'. Lee Bowyer was the scorer, lobbing Mark Schwarzer in the Cottagers' goal and Blues are now able to enjoy some breathing space from the drop zone.

The same cannot be said for either Hull City or West Ham United who fought out a 3-3 draw at the KC Stadium. A single point is barely enough for either of them. Hull recovered from a 2-0 deficit opened by goals from Guillermo Franco and Jack Collison. A Carlton Cole own-goal and a Kamil Zayatte strike took the Tigers to parity before a Jimmy Bullard penalty took them ahead.

The dismissal of Bernard Mendy in the 54th minute handed West Ham the whip hand but a Manuel Da Costa equaliser was the best that Gianfranco Zola's men could produce. They remain in the bottom three with Hull perched a point and a place ahead.