Sunderland gave Arsenal a real scare at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon, as we finished the game with ten men and lost by the odd goal in five against the Gunners.

Roy Keane made no changes to the line-up that started last week's 2-1 loss to Blackburn, but Michael Chopra moved onto the right wing as we packed a five-man midfield as we looked to employ similar tactics to the game that saw us narrowly lose 1-0 to Manchester United. Arsene Wenger made just one change, with Abou Diaby coming into midfield for Emmanuel Eboue - the first time Diaby has faced Sunderland since he was was out injured for eight months after a stiff challenge from Dan Smith in the last outing between these two sides on Wearside, in May 2006.

Arsenal had the ball in the back of the net after six minutes, but the goal wasn't counted as the referee had chosen to give a free kick on the edge of the area following a foul from Grant Leadbitter. Robin van Persie made sure the Gunners scored though, blasting a shot off the underside of the bar and past a helpless Craig Gordon.

Sunderland didn't lose their heads though, and we still came forward with Almunia punching away a cross destined for Kenwyne Jones, shortly before the Gunners went down the other end and forced Gordon into a fine save as he poked over a header from Emmanuel Adebayor. Phillipe Senderos made it 2-0 on 13 minutes when a comedy of errors in the Sunderland area saw Jones almost score an own goal from a corner, as our defence remained static allowing Senderos to turn the ball past Gordon.

It should have been 3-0 on 18 minutes, when Gordon parried away Alexander Hleb's shot into the path of Abou Diaby, who had no problems putting the ball in the back of the net - but the linesman ruled that Cesc Fabregas was offside and so we were spared the embarrassment of conceding three in such a short space of time. Liam Miller tried to thread a through ball into the path of Grant Leadbitter in the box on 21 minutes, but the ball was overhit as the Gunners ended up getting a goal kick out of it.

Sunderland pulled a goal back on 25 minutes, when Dwight Yorke's through ball to Kenwyne Jones saw the Trinidad and Tobago striker send his shot straight at Almunia, only for the rebound to fall to Ross Wallace on the edge of the area, who turned before firing a shot into the back of the net as Sunderland saw a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Liam Miller tried a shot from the edge of the area to get us level on the half hour mark, but his shot went well off target after some nice build-up play from Chopra and Yorke down the right wing.

Robin van Persie saw his shot poked over for a corner by Gordon a moment later, before Senderos headed the ball the wrong side of goal from the resulting set play, but Sunderland managed to contain the Gunners for the remainder of the first half as we went into the break somewhat buoyant at just a goal down.

Sunderland came out for the second half in the same form, and after they had dealt with a few Arsenal corners, we shockingly drew level within four minutes of the restart. With Ross Wallace and Liam Miller linking up down the left wing, Miller fired in a cross into the area, where Kenwyne Jones managed to get his head to the ball and nod it over the line, despite the best efforts of Almunia.

Grant Leadbitter worked a short corner on 54 minutes that saw him get the ball back before embarking on a brief run that ended with him firing a low shot through a crowd of players and straight at Almunia. We nearly went behind seconds later as Craig Gordon completely missed an effort to punch the ball away, but we were able to clear the ball away before the danger worsened. Kolo Toure hit the bar with a 30 yard shot on 58 minutes as the offside flag saved ourselves from going behind again with Arsenal players rushing towards the rebound.

Dwight Yorke sent a low shot straight at Almunia on the hour mark as we kept pushing forward, but Sunderland managed to hold on as Arsenal went forward. Nyron Nosworthy's backheel cleared the ball away from danger on 75 minutes as Arsenal tried to get a winner.Theo Walcott missed a sitter from close range as Arsenal snatched at the ball, while we brought on Dickson Etuhu and former Gunner Anthony Stokes for the final stretch of the game.

Arsenal regained the lead with ten minutes to go when the ball came in low from the right, allowing Robin van Persie to get a low shot in from inside the area that Craig Gordon managed to get his hand to, but failed to keep out of the back of the net as Sunderland's dream comeback went sour, with Anthony Stokes' coming tantalisingly close to getting an instant equaliser at the other end.

Kenwyne Jones nearly made it 3-3 with a shot that went across the face of goal with Stokes inches away from converting at the far post. Emmanuel Eboue hit the side netting following a run forward in the final minutes of normal time. Paul McShane got himself sent off as we entered five minutes of stoppage time, with referee Rob Styles showing him a straight red card for an awkward tackle on Hleb that ended with McShane effectively stamping the Arsenal midfielder in the groin. That red card was given for violent conduct - and means an automatic three game ban for McShane.

Cesc Fabregas put a shot wide as Sunderland battled through injury time with a makeshift backline, shortly before Adebayor turned past Nosworthy to send a shot the wrong side of goal as we brought on Ian Harte for his debut for the final few moments, but in the end McShane's red card was too much for us to overcome as Arsenal narrowly ran out with all three points.

Sunderland: Gordon, McShane (OFF 90), Nosworthy, Higginbotham, Collins, Leadbitter, Yorke (sub 90, Harte), Miller, Wallace (sub 77, Etuhu), Chopra (sub 77, Stokes), Jones. Subs: Ward, O'Donovan.

Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna (sub 68, Eboue), Toure, Senderos, Clichy, Hleb, Fabregas, Flamini, Diaby (sub 58, Walcott), Adebayor, Van Persie (sub 85, Gilberto). Subs: Fabianski, Bendtner.