Arsenal 3, Sunderland 2

So, football is losing its soul is it? Not if it can continue to produce an afternoon's entertainment such as this.

Forty-eight hours after Roy Keane delivered a stinging critique of the state of the national game, Sunderland and Arsenal combined to produce a compelling advertisement for all that is good about football in this country.

Too predictable? Try telling that to a Sunderland side that trailed the current Premier League leaders by two goals after just 14 minutes, yet somehow fashioned a recovery that led to them drawing level in the early stages of the second half.

Too many players motivated only by money? Not in a Sunderland strip, it appears, given the passion and commitment that enabled the visitors to keep pace with an Arsenal side that are worthy contenders for the title.

And too many average players unable to live up to their reputation? Not yesterday, as the Gunners sporadically produced the kind of instinctive one-touch football that has made them the most attractive side in the land.

Arsenal's first opportunity came after just 23 seconds, and their last came when Theo Walcott hit the base of the post in the second minute of injury time. In between times, there were occasions when the extent of their superiority was embarrassing, yet Sunderland's tenacity meant the contest never became the rout that sporadically looked likely.

Keane has assembled a side boasting commendable spirit, and for all of their slick approach play, Arsene Wenger's artisans will rarely have to work harder for a Premier League victory this season.

That will be of little consolation to the Black Cats, of course, given that they have now won just one of their last eight Premier League matches.

But Sunderland should draw considerable satisfaction from their efforts in the face of adversity.

Even if, at times, it seemed like the two sides were playing an entirely different sport.

While Sunderland's players promoted the virtues of good old-fashioned toil, Arsenal's appeared to be involved in an elaborate game of pinball, pinging the ball around at a variety of increasingly intricate angles.

There were times when the speed of the home side's passing proved even too quick for them. But when everything fell into place, it was impossible not to admire the fluency and vision of Arsenal's play.

With the mercurial Cesc Fabregas orchestrating the tempo of the home side's attacking, Arsenal repeatedly passed their way through a packed Sunderland midfield.

Yet for all of their pace and incision, the hosts' two first-half goals still owed much to some dreadful Black Cats defending.

Grant Leadbitter's seventh-minute push on Fabregas was unnecessary, and Robin Van Persie ensured it received the maximum punishment.

Craig Gordon might have performed heroics on more than one occasion this season, but the Scotsman barely saw the 22-yard strike that cannoned into the net off the underside of the crossbar.

Worse was to come seven minutes later, with Sunderland once again contributing to their own downfall.

Kenwyne Jones' attempted clearance flew back into the Black Cats box, Emmanuel Adebayor shuffled the ball towards Philippe Senderos, and the Swiss centre-half stabbed a side-footed shot into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.

Arsenal's dominance at that stage was emphatic, and they should have been three goals to the good as early as the 19th minute. Mathieu Flamini was wrongly adjudged to be offside before Abou Diaby converted Alexander Hleb's right-wing cross.

At the time, the oversight looked irrelevant. Half an hour later, though, and it had become absolutely crucial.

A third goal at that stage would surely have knocked all of the wind out of Sunderland's sails. As it was, the Black Cats were able to regroup, recover and mount one of the most unlikely comebacks of the season.

Dwight Yorke was the catalyst, finally proving that Sunderland possessed a player able to put his foot on the ball and exert a positive influence on proceedings. Crucially, where he began, the rest of his team-mates followed.

The Black Cats had barely strayed into Arsenal's half when Yorke picked up possession close to the halfway line in the 25th minute but, within the space of three seconds, they had reduced the arrears.

Jones took down the midfielder's long pass superbly and, while Manuel Almunia came out to smother the Trinidadian's close-range effort, Ross Wallace was on hand to take the loose ball around Kolo Toure and drill it into the bottom right-hand corner.

Amazingly, Sunderland were right back in it. Even more incredibly, Wallace remembered to keep his top on.

Two long-range Liam Miller efforts provided further evidence of the visitors' increased confidence before the break and, while Senderos wasted a glorious opportunity by misdirecting a free header at the back post, the Wearsiders were level within three minutes of the interval.

Miller crossed from the left and Jones, once again impressing in the same lone striker role he performed at Old Trafford, rose above to Gael Clichy to plant a firm downward header past a perplexed Almunia.

The equaliser heralded a much more even second half, with Arsenal continuing to enjoy the bulk of possession but Sunderland posing much more of a threat on the break.

There were times when the visitors were forced to live dangerously, such as when Toure drilled a 35-yard thunderbolt against the left-hand post or when Nyron Nosworthy displayed excellent awareness to scramble Walcott's square ball to safety.

But there were also times when Arsenal were in grave danger of falling behind, most notably when Almunia saved Leadbitter's low drive at his near post and when Jones dragged a shot across the face of goal following bright approach play from Miller.

Potential Premier League champions, however, tend to have the final say.

In previous seasons, Arsenal would have been unable to forge the breakthrough that wrested back the initiative. Yesterday, when an opportunity presented itself, they were clinical enough to take advantage.

Walcott drifted outside Danny Collins and, after taking one touch to steady himself, Van Persie drilled an instinctive low drive past Gordon's right hand.

That was not quite that, with Paul McShane providing a disappointingly sour footnote to proceedings as he was rightly dismissed following a mistimed challenge that ended with his studs thudding into Hleb's groin. Football had found its soul, but McShane had lost his head.