Robin van Persie of Arsenal celebrates as he scores their second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium on October 16, 2011 in London, England.

Robin van Persie struck twice as Arsenal began to repair the damage from its poor start to the English Premier League season with a 2-1 win at home to Sunderland yesterday.

Arsenal went ahead with less than 30 seconds on the clock when Gervinho surged down the left and crossed for van Persie who shot into the bottom corner.

The hosts then dominated with a confidence they have struggled to find this season before letting 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's header shortly before halftime and it 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 its third victory in eight games.

Defeat leaves Sunderland just above the relegation zone in 17th and turns up the heat on manager Steve Bruce.

Earlier in the day, West Bromwich Albion claimed the Midlands bragging rights with a 2-0 win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Manchester City overtook champion Manchester United at the top on Saturday with a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa after United could only draw 1-1 at Liverpool.

City has 22 points from its eight matches, two clear of United.