Arsenal closed the gap on second place with a 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium.

Nicklas Bendtner put Arsene Wenger’s side ahead with after tapping in Emmanuel Eboue’s cross in the first half and in added time Cesc Fabregas converted a penalty to double the Gunners lead and move them to within two points of Manchester United.

Alex Song returned to the starting line-up after missing out on the 2-1 loss to Porto in midweek but Andriy Arshavin, Eduardo and William Gallas all missed out again.

Manuel Almunia also returned in the place of Lukasz Fabianski, and Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey and Emmanuel Eboue all started.

Mikael Silvestre earned a rare start, while Sol Campbell, Bacary Sagna, Tomas Rosicky and Denilson all had to settle for places on the bench.

Steve Bruce made four changes from the side that drew 1-1 with Portsmouth in their last outing, with Anton Ferdinand, John Mensah and Frazier Campbell all earning starts.

Lee Cattermole and David Meyler were sent off in that match and were both suspended, while Steed Malbranque and Matthew Kilgallon dropped to the bench.

Sunderland were also without Jordan Henderson and Andy Reid who are both recovering from ankle and hamstring injuries respectively.

Arsenal had the first chance of the game when Ramsey found Walcott with an excellent through ball and the England man sprinted past McCartney before firing across the face of goal from an awkward angle but nobody could get on the end of it.

The Gunners were undone by some quick thinking against Porto in midweek and they nearly opened the scoring through some quick thinking of their own. Nasri cut inside from the right after a short corner from Fabregas and unleashed a left-footed strike from the edge of the box which took a deflection and spun just over Gordon’s crossbar.

Walcott was next to come close for the Gunners, he cut inside from the right after outpacing McCartney and was found one-on-one with Gordon but could only strike straight at the Sunderland goalkeeper. The ball broke to Bendtner just inside the box but he sent the follow up wide.

Arsenal played their usually expansive passing play in the early stages and it almost paid off when Nasri, Ramsey and Fabregas combined to set up Bendtner ten yards out and the Denmark international clipped a shot towards goal but McCartney got across well to deflect the shot over the bar.

Sunderland found it difficult to create chances in the opening half hour and their best chance came through Campbell, who was put through on goal after some poor Arsenal defending but Almunia quickly rushed out of goal to prevent the former Manchester United forward scoring.

Arsene Wenger’s side kept pressing and were finally rewarded with a goal when Eboue jinked his way down the right wing and fired across goal to find Bendtner at the far post, who tapped in from close range to put the Gunners ahead.

The Black Cats were lucky not to be a man down on the half hour when Cana went in for a challenge two-footed on Eboue but the referee initially waved play on before booking the Albanian when the ball went out of play.

Jones almost scored an equalizer for Sunderland shortly after, he was found one-on-one with Almunia after pulling away from Silvestre to latch onto Richardson’s defense-splitting pass, but the striker dragged his shot wide of the far post when he looked certain to find the back of the net.

Arsenal started the second half as they finished the first, passing the ball around the midfield very well and they almost doubled their lead when Fabregas whipped in an excellent free-kick towards Vermaelen but the Belgium international failed to make contact with the ball at the far post.

Steve Bruce played Bent on the left wing in an attempt to nullify the threat of Walcott with his blistering pace, but the youngster had a very good first half and began the second half in the same fashion. The England man cut inside from the right and struck a low left-footed shot at goal but Gordon parried the ball wide for a corner.

Gordon was forced into action again minutes later when Vermaelen struck from a free-kick but his left-footed effort was at a decent height for the Scotland international to punch the ball away.

Sunderland went close through Bent when he was found through on goal after shrugging off the challenge of Silvestre, but the former Spurs striker could not find a way past Almunia, who palmed the ball away.

Rosicky was brought on in the place of Nasri on 70 minutes, but moments before that, the Frenchman almost put the Gunners two goals up after curling his shot a couple of yards wide of Gordon’s right-hand post.

Arsene Wenger pushed the impressive Eboue onto the right side of the Gunners attack after bringing on Sagna for Walcott, who looked tired in the second half, for the final stages.

Fabregas had a chance for the Gunners after picking up the ball 30 yards out from goal but the Spaniard’s long-range effort cannoned off Eboue and the ball broke free to McCartney.

Sunderland were presented with a chance late on after Vermaelen brought down Bent on the edge of the area and as Zenden stepped up, it looked as though the Black Cats could steal a point but he smashed his free-kick straight into the wall.

The Gunners earned a penalty in the final minute after Campbell shoved Fabregas in the back and after Ferdinand was booked for protesting, the Spaniard stepped up and converted the penalty with ease to the left of Gordon, and the Gunners secured a win that moved them to within two points of second place Manchester United.

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