Van Persie double downs Addicks

Robin van Persie's contender for goal of the season continued Arsenal's resurgence as they defeated Charlton 2-1 at the Valley.

The Dutchman netted once in each half, after Darren Bent had fired the struggling Addicks into the lead, to make it five wins in a row for Arsene Wenger's men.

His second goal, four minutes after the restart, was magnificent, as van Persie crashed a stunning left-foot volley into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area.

Although it would have been a fine winning goal for any occasion, that will be of little consolation to Charlton boss Iain Dowie, whose side have now lost six out of seven Barclays Premiership matches.

Out of nothing, Charlton had the lead in the 21st minute.

A long punt upfield by Hermann Hreidarsson was aimed at Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. When the ball arrived at the feet of the veteran Dutchman, he appeared to be at least two yards ahead of the advancing Justin Hoyte - but play was waved on as the assistant kept his flag down.

A simple cutback to Bent at the far post left the England man clear to touch in a fifth goal of the season. Arsenal were incensed, with manager Wenger leading the protests on the near-side touchline - but television replays showed it to be a marginal call at the time the ball was humped forwards.

However, in the 32nd minute, Alexander Hleb again had space to turn inside the box, and chipped the ball back over to the awaiting van Persie, who made no mistake in despatching a low drive into the bottom-right corner.

And the visitors took the lead when Emmanuel Eboue chased down the right and whipped over a teasing cross back along the edge of the penalty area. Van Persie had timed his run to perfection - and leapt to rocket a stunning left-foot volley into the roof of the net, before jumping over the advertising hoardings to celebrate with the Gunners fans behind the goal.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink almost snatched a late equaliser when he flashed a close-range header wide from a Bryan Hughes cross.