Darren Bent left it late to deny 10-man Arsenal victory at Sunderland
with a 95th-minute equaliser.
The England international struck amid a goalmouth scramble as the
Black Cats launched one final attack.
Until that point, it looked as though Cesc Fabregas' freak goal
would be enough to hand the visitors a hard-fought win.
The Spaniard's 13th-minute block sent Anton Ferdinand's attempted
clearance sailing over the head of stranded goalkeeper Simon Mignolet
and into the net.
But the Gunners had only themselves to blame after having midfielder
Alex Song sent off for a second bookable offence 10 minutes after
the break, while substitute Tomas Rosicky skied a 74th-minute penalty
wastefully over the bar.
Sunderland have fared well against the Barclays Premier League's
big boys in recent times, and claimed the scalp of big-spending
Manchester City in their last outing at the Stadium of Light.
But manager Steve Bruce knew that if they were to get the better
of the Gunners as they did last season, they would have to be at
their best and probably enjoy some good fortune.
He could have no quibbles with their first-half display as they
more than made a fight of it against a side who had scored six without
reply in the Champions League in midweek.
However, what luck came their way was of the sickeningly bad variety.
The game was 13 minutes old when Fabregas closed down central defender
Ferdinand as he prepared to clear.
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