Van Persie inspires Arsenal, Newcastle stay

Captain Robin van Persie struck twice to inspire Arsenal to a much-needed 2-1 victory over Sunderland and Newcastle United scored late to maintain their unbeaten Premier League record in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Newcastle twice came from behind, Shola Ameobi netting their second goal in the 86th minute, to remain the only club apart from leaders Manchester City and champions Manchester United yet to lose in the league this season.

Spurs midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart's 40th-minute penalty was cancelled out by Demba Ba's strike shortly after the break before substitute Jermain Defoe tipped the game in the visitors' favour midway through the second half.

Newcastle, however, showed their good start was no fluke when Ameobi fired an unstoppable shot in from a tight angle to rescue a point that kept his club fourth.

"We are feeling confident and we played very well today against one of the top teams," Newcastle manager Alan Pardew told Sky Sports after a game that only really came to life in the second half.

"We are in a great period ... We are going to be a dangerous side against the top teams as well as everybody else."

The point kept Spurs sixth in the table and manager Harry Redknapp was disappointed not to have taken all three after the introduction of Defoe gave his side new verve.

"Jermain came on and scored the goal and I felt at that stage we could go and nick another goal," he said.

Tottenham's north London rivals Arsenal had a better day against opponents from the north east as they went ahead against visiting Sunderland with less than 30 seconds on the clock.

Gervinho surged down the left and crossed for the inspirational Van Persie to shoot into the bottom corner and the hosts dominated the early stages with a confidence they have rarely shown during a miserable start to the season.

But they let Sunderland into the game when Mikel Arteta conceded a free kick which Seb Larsson struck beautifully over the wall to equalise against his former club on 31 minutes.

Arsenal had goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to thank when his point-blank save denied an unmarked Lee Cattermole shortly before halftime and they had to wait until eight minutes from time for Van Persie to snatch the victory.

CONFIDENCE WOBBLE
The Dutchman more than matched the quality of Larsson's free kick with one of his own that curled over the wall to lift Arsenal up to 10th in the league with only their third victory in eight games.

"We had a good start for 25 minutes but as soon as Sunderland equalised the confidence started to wobble a bit," Wenger said.

"The second half was all us ... but we needed something special from Robin van Persie to make the difference ... When you need something special in game that's where you see great players and that's what you saw today.

"What matters for us at the moment is the three points. (Confidence) comes back with points. The spirit is great in the team."

Van Persie had also hit the post in the 12th minute and was lively throughout, reassured fans in his programme notes that he was committed to the club despite an impending house sale.

Defeat left Sunderland just above the relegation zone in 17th and turned up the heat on manager Steve Bruce.

"We'll stick with it and we'll turn it around," Bruce said. "We've had a disappointing start, we can't disguise that."

Earlier in the day, West Bromwich Albion claimed the Midlands bragging rights with a 2-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The hosts took an early lead through Chris Brunt, whose first-time shot flew into the roof of the net in the eighth minute.

Wolves had chances to level but West Brom secured the points when substitute Peter Odemwingie drove a low shot into the bottom corner on 75 minutes.

Manchester City overtook Manchester United at the top on Saturday with a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa as United were held to a 1-1 draw at Liverpool.

REUTERS