Source: PA
Bent relishing tough tests ahead
Sunderland striker Darren Bent is plotting the downfall of more of the Barclays Premier League big guns after having his own say in the title race once again.
Three weeks after his last-minute penalty condemned Manchester City to defeat on Wearside, the England international struck five minutes into injury time to deny 10-man Arsenal victory at the Stadium of Light.
Bent's fifth goal of the season and the draw it secured were just reward for another spirited performance from the Black Cats, although the degree of difficulty is set to increase even further over the next few weeks.
After Tuesday night's Carling Cup clash with West Ham, the Black Cats head for Liverpool - where they have a dreadful record - and then entertain Manchester United knowing they will need every ounce of the resolve they showed on Saturday if they are to emerge with a similar or better result. However, while Bent and his team-mates will take nothing for granted, they will approach two of their more testing fixtures in confident mood.
Bent said: "We have got Liverpool and Manchester United coming up, so I don't really want to say too much. But we always seem to raise our game for these big boys and always put on a performance, and we have to do that in every game now.
"Against Manchester City a couple of weeks back, we put everything into it and once again late, we got the result and managed to get all three points, and on Saturday, we picked up a point. But we have got some hard games coming up and every point counts."
