Newcastle had to come from behind twice, with Shola Ameobi
netting their second in the 86th minute, to remain the only club apart from
leaders Manchester City and champions Manchester United yet to lose in the
league this season.
Spurs midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart's 40th-minute penalty
was canceled out by Demba Ba's strike shortly after the break before substitute
Jermain Defoe tipped the game in the visitors' favor midway through the second
half.
Newcastle, however, showed that their good start to the
season is no fluke when Ameobi fired an unstoppable shot in from a tight angle
to rescue a point that kept his club fourth.
Tottenham's north London rivals Arsenal had a better day
against northeast English opponents as they went ahead against visiting
Sunderland with less than 30 seconds on the clock.
Gervinho surged down the left and crossed for the
inspirational Van Persie who shot into the bottom corner with the hosts then
dominating with a confidence they have struggled to find during a miserable
start to this season.
But they let Sunderland into the game when Mikel Arteta
conceded a free kick that Seb Larsson struck beautifully over the wall to equalize
against his former club on 31 minutes.
Arsenal had goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to thank when his
point-blank save denied an unmarked Lee Cattermole shortly before halftime and
they had to wait until eight minutes from time for Van Persie to snatch the
victory.
The Dutchman more than matched the quality of Larsson's free
kick with one of his own that curled over the wall and into the goal to lift
Arsenal up to 10th in the league with only their third victory in eight games.
"We had a good start for 25 minutes but as soon as
Sunderland equalized the confidence started to wobble a bit," Wenger told
Sky Sports.
"The second half was all us ... but we needed something
special from Robin van Persie to make the difference ... When you need
something special in game that's where you see great players and that's what
you saw today.
"What matters for us at the moment is the three points.
(Confidence) comes back with points. The spirit is great in the team." Earlier
in the day, West Bromwich Albion claimed the Midlands bragging rights with a
2-0 win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The hosts took an early lead through Chris Brunt, whose
first-time shot flew into the roof of the net in the eighth minute after he was
set up by Billy Jones.
Wolves had chances to level in an open game with Roger
Johnson heading wide midway through the second half but West Brom secured the
points when substitute Peter Odemwingie drove a low shot into the bottom corner
on 75 minutes.
Manchester City overtook Manchester United at the top on
Saturday with a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa after United could only draw 1-1
at Liverpool.
