Sunderland 2 Arsenal 0

SUNDERLAND piled the pressure on Arsene Wenger as Arsenal tumbled out of the FA Cup.

Having seen his side mauled 4-0 by AC Milan in midweek, Wenger desperately needed a positive result at the Stadium of Light.

But the injury-hit Gunners, who have not lifted a trophy since 2005, fell behind five minutes before the break when Kieran Richardson wrapped his left boot around the ball to leave keeper Lukasz Fabianski well beaten. Martin O'Neill's resurgent Black Cats were on a high after the goal and Wenger cut an increasingly frustrated figure on the sidelines as the visitors failed to find an equaliser.

Like their manager, Arsenal continued to huff and puff without seriously testing Simon Mignolet in the Sunderland goal.

And Wenger's misery was compounded when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain put through his own net 12 minutes from time after a stunning burst from Stephane Sessegnon.

The attacker raced away before rolling the ball into the path of former Gunner Sebastian Larsson, who saw his shot from a tight angle come back off the post.

Oxlade-Chamberlain had raced back in an attempt to snuff out the danger but his attempted clearance saw the ball bobble over the line.

Wenger had thrown Gervinho straight back into the team on his return from the African Nations Cup, while Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fabianski were among five changes from the Milan drubbing.

What the beleaguered Frenchman did not need after losing Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker was more defensive injuries.

But he was forced into a change after less than 10 minutes when Francis Coquelin suffered a hamstring problem and was replaced by Sebastien Squillaci.

The Gunners had already gone close by that point through Mikel Arteta's free-kick, while Sunderland Sessegnon had fired just wide at the other end.

Arsenal continued to look for the breakthrough and Mignolet had to be alert to deny Gervinho in the 28th minute.

The visitors appealed for a penalty when Robin van Persie went down under a challenge from John O'Shea, only for ref Howard Webb to wave play on.

While Wenger's attack looked dangerous, his defence was wilting once again and Johan Djourou became the first man in the book when he hauled down Craig Gardner.

The resulting Larsson free-kick was headed away by Thomas Vermaelen but only as far as Richardson, whose well-struck volley arrowed into the corner of the net with the aid of a slight deflection off Squillaci.

And it nearly got worse for Arsenal before half-time when Jack Colback did well to keep in a deep cross from Larsson.

The ball fell into the path of James McClean but he could only poke his effort wide from close range under pressure from Fabianski.

A crude challenge from Bacary Sagna ended a break from McClean in the opening moments of the second half and the full-back was swiftly shown a yellow card.

Larsson has been deadly with free-kicks from just outside the box this season but this time his shot was just too high.

Wenger then made a double change with Tomas Rosicky replacing injured substitute Squillaci and Theo Walcott coming on for Aaron Ramsey.

Alex Song dropped back into the centre of defence and Walcott took up a forward position but it was Sunderland doing most of the attacking.

The hosts' workrate was phenomenal as they hassled and harried their opponents all over the pitch.

Vermaelen headed a free-kick from Arteta straight into the hands of Mignolet but the tie was decided 12 minutes from time.

Sessegnon set off on a run from inside his own half to the edge of the Arsenal area after more pressure had set up the breakaway.

The Benin forward played in Larsson and his shot rebounded onto Oxlade-Chamberlain, who got his feet in a muddle and bundled the ball home.

Van Persie, who had been quiet all afternoon, stabbed a shot over the bar in the dying seconds to sum up a truly woeful day for the struggling Gunners.

Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, O'Shea, Turner, Richardson, Larsson, Cattermole, Gardner, Colback, McClean, Sessegnon (Campbell 88). Subs not used: Westwood, Bridge, Ji, Meyler, Kyrgiakos, Elmohamady. Booked: Larsson,Gardner, Cattermole.

Goals: Richardson 40, Oxlade-Chamberlain 78 og.

Arsenal: Fabianski, Sagna, Djourou, Vermaelen, Coquelin (Squillaci 10), Song, Arteta, Gervinho, Ramsey (Walcott 53),Oxlade-Chamberlain, Van Persie, Squillaci (Rosicky 53). Subs not used: Szczesny, Arshavin, Chamakh, Benayoun. Booked: Djourou, Sagna, Vermaelen.

Att: 26,042

Ref: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire).

Source: thesun.co.uk