Sunderland 1 - 0 Arsenal

Bent goal sinks Gunners

Updated: November 21, 2009, 3:10 AM ET

England striker Darren Bent fired title-chasing Arsenal to a first defeat in 14 games as Sunderland battled their way to victory.

• Bruce backs Bent's England claims

Bent struck 19 minutes from time to seal a tight contest after the Gunners had failed to make the most of the possession they enjoyed at the Stadium of Light.

It might have been different had keeper Marton Fulop not denied Tomas Rosicky with a vital fifth minute save or had referee Alan Wiley pointed to the penalty spot after substitute Carlos Vela went down in the box in injury time.

But the Black Cats battled all the way to the whistle to condemn the visitors to defeat for the first time since September 12.

At the start of the season, Sunderland had not beaten one of the traditional big four clubs since their return to the Barclays Premier League, but their victory today in front of a crowd of 44,918 was their first since they defeated Liverpool on Wearside on October 17.

The Gunners arrived on Wearside without star striker Robin van Persie, the subject of much discussion this week after opting for treatment on his injured ankle which included the use of horse placenta.

His absence, coupled with that of Nicklas Bendtner, left manager Arsene Wenger with few options in attack, although his team-sheet still made for impressive reading.

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

But opposite number Steve Bruce had problems in central defence with Michael Turner suspended, and Paulo da Silva and John Mensah, back after six games out with a calf problem, found themselves fully extended at times during a tight first half.

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 the middle of the field.

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 ran agonisingly wide of the post.

In the meantime, Sunderland had created two chances of their own, both of them falling to Steed 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, with Andy Reid this time the provider, high over the bar.

Arsenal resumed in much the same vein as they took the game to Sunderland, although they were still unable to pierce 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 Fraizer 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 and fell perfectly for his strike partner to smash it home before Almunia could get there.

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

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

But the Gunners could not believe they were not awarded an injury time penalty for Campbell's challenge on Vela with referee Alan Wiley waving their appeals away.

Bruce backs Bent's England claims

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce backed Darren Bent's claims on a place in England's World Cup squad after seeing him fire Arsenal to their first defeat in 14 games.

Asked if he would take Bent to South Africa if he were England manager, Bruce replied: "Absolutely, 100%. If there is a better one than him...we all know [Wayne] Rooney. But it's not just his goalscoring, his appetite and his work-rate are absolutely unbelievable.

"He played on his own today and ran a million miles for the team. For me, he would have to be [in the squad] because he scores a goal - he has scored against all the big clubs. I don't think he is going to be judged on a 55-minute friendly [appearance] in Qatar. I don't think Mr Capello will take any notice of that.

"I would have thought he will pick a team that's in form, and when you have got an outstanding goalscorer, as Darren is. That shows what type of person he is. His overall work-rate and attitude for it were terrific after what has been a difficult couple of weeks for him, missing [a penalty] at Tottenham and then the England debacle. But he has bounced back the way he should.''

Substitute Carlos Vela had appeals for a penalty waved away in injury time, but the Black Cats held firm to ensure the points remained on Wearside. Bruce said: "To beat Arsenal, you have always got to play well - and it wasn't one of those lucky ones either when Arsenal have missed chance after chance. That wasn't the case.

"We matched them in the middle of the park, and that was the key area to it. They are excellent in the middle of the park the way they play, they are so fluid. But defensively as a team, we set out a game-plan and stuck to it and got the result. It was terrific.''

Defeat left the Gunners eight points adrift of Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea, and manager Arsene Wenger admitted they had only themselves to blame. He said: "We lost a game and we can only fault ourselves because we didn't score. Some players were not at their best and we gave a goal away on the only situation where Sunderland could score one today, a set-piece, and that sums it up well.

"Rather than focusing on any individual, I believe it's more down to the fact that we made a big mistake on the corner, because the game was there for the taking in the last 20 minutes. But of course, 1-0 down makes it more difficult.''

Asked about the late penalty incident, Wenger said: "It's difficult for us to get penalties, even the most obvious ones.'' Asked further what he meant by that, he replied cryptically: "I mean nothing.''