Sunderland 0 Arsenal 3

Van Persie cashes in at double to leave Sunderland looking spent

At just five pounds for adults and a pound for children, you would have expected this Carling Cup third-round tie to have offered value for money for those Sunderland supporters who have spent so much following the fortunes of their club. It did not.

Until Emmanuel Eboue, of Arsenal, lashed an unstoppable shot into the top corner just after the hour, this was a game remarkable only because of the size of the crowd and the lack of goalmouth action to entertain it. Until then, Arsenal's fans may also have been tempted to ask for a refund, but two goals from the Dutch international Robin van Persie, the first from the penalty spot, put a nice gloss on their performance.

"Sunderland worked very hard with a direct game," said the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, who, in the aftermath of the spot-kick farce involving Thierry Henry and Robert Pires last weekend, also joked about the quality of Van Persie's second-half penalty.

"But we were dangerous in patches and overall I'm happy with the result and performance. It was a very young side for us and I was very pleased with the way they played in front of a big crowd."

The Carling Cup may generally be suffering from dwindling interest, but this was Sunderland's first sell-out crowd of the season and more than 12,000 above what they have averaged since they returned to the Premiership.

"I was delighted with the crowd, but not with the result," said Mick McCarthy, the Sunderland manager. "We were in the game in the first half and I think the score was a little harsh, but our main priorities lie elsewhere this season and that is to stay in the Premier League."

Arsenal, as has become their norm in the competition, played their reserve side and, significantly, that meant Sol Campbell was the only English-born player in their starting XI. Nevertheless, if the visitors' side was packed with some of the most promising young players in world football, Sunderland's had an equally youthful, if mainly British feel, including Justin Hoyte, the defender on a season's loan from Arsenal.

Hoyte and Sunderland began brightly, but gradually Arsenal's cosmopolitan outfit began to take control, Sunderland's England Youth goalkeeper Ben Alnwick twice denying van Persie, the second an excellent low save to his right.

They were isolated highlights in a turgid first 45 minutes and the game only came alive when Eboue, the 22-year-old Ivory Coast international, picked the ball up 30 yards from goal and thumped it into the top corner.

Five minutes later Arsenal were virtually assured of their place in the next round, Van Persie shooting and scoring from the penalty spot after Hoyte was judged to have brought down Arturo Lupoli.

Lupoli might have added his name to the score sheet as the Stadium of Light rapidly emptied, but instead Van Persie claimed his second of the evening with a cool finish from Sebastian Larsson's cute pass.

Sunderland (4-4-2): Alnwick; Nosworthy, Collins (Smith, 48), Caldwell, Hoyte; Lawrence, Robinson (Whitehead, 75), Woods, Welsh (Murphy, 69); Stead, Le Tallec. Substitutes not used: Davis (gk), Gray.

Arsenal (4-4-2): Almunia; Eboue, Cygan, Campbell, Senderos; Larsson (Stokes, 90), Muamba, Song, Owusu-Abeyie (Bendtner, 90); Van Persie, Lupoli (Cregg, 89). Substitutes not used: Poom (gk), Connolly.

Referee: M Messias (S Yorkshire).