Arshavin fails to inspire Arsenal

The Russian saw an early low shot fly just wide, before Marton Fulop beat away his angled drive.

Sunderland battled well and were worth a share of the spoils as the Gunners again could not break down a stubborn defence and missed a chance to close the gap on the top four.

After 11 minutes Robin van Persie was released into the left side of the penalty box by Denilson, took the ball around Fulop, but saw his clipped effort curl just off target.

But Sunderland hit back with shots from defender Anton Ferdinand and midfielder Andy Reid, before Dean Whitehead forced a decent save from Manuel Almunia.

Fulop got down quickly to turn Nicklas Bendtner's header around the post, before Kolo Toure saw a far-post header cleared off the line by Reid just before half-time.

Following the restart, Arsenal continued to build a sustained period of pressure, if without troubling the Sunderland defence in the final third.

With 27 minutes left, Arshavin was given a well-earned rest when he was replaced by Carlos Vela, who moved to the left as Samir Nasri switched flanks.

Vela dragged a left-foot shot across goal when the ball dropped to him in the six-yard box - and the Mexican again failed to hit the target when picked out by Gunners top scorer Van Persie.

Full-back Gael Clichy picked up an injury and was replaced by Kieran Gibbs for the final few minutes, as the Gunners again were left frustrated with William Gallas dragging a close-range effort wide in stoppage time.