Bent's leveller and Rosicky's miss mean Gunners fail to call shots

Bent's fifth goal of the season and the draw it secured were just reward for another spirited performance from the Black Cats, although the degree of difficulty is set to increase even further over the next few weeks.

After tomorrow night's Carling Cup tie with West Ham, Sunderland head for Liverpool – where they have a dreadful record – and then entertain Manchester United.

The scoreline barely began to tell the story of a game which put managers Steve Bruce and Arsene Wenger through the full range of emotions.

It was the Sunderland boss who had his head in his hands with 13 minutes gone when Anton Ferdinand's attempted clearance cannoned back off the closing Cesc Fabregas and looped over goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and into the net.

Alex Song's 55th-minute dismissal for a second bookable offence gave the Black Cats fresh impetus, but Arsenal retained possession to keep them at bay.

They should have wrapped up the win with 16 minutes remaining when, after Samir Nasri had been tripped by Ahmed Elmohamady inside the box, referee Phil Dowd pointed to the spot but substitute Tomas Rosicky blasted the penalty high over the bar.

Five minutes into stoppage time Gael Clichy's attempted clearance fell to Bent and he gleefully slammed in his shot.