Sam Allardyce has claimed that Sunderland "definitely should have had a penalty" in their goalless draw with Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.

The Black Cats' appeals for a spot kick in the first half were waved away by referee Mike Dean to deny the hosts a potential breakthrough from 12 yards.

The incident in question saw Per Mertesacker get in the way of Jermain Defoe's goal-bound shot with the aid of his hand from point-blank range, while at the other end DeAndre Yedlin also appeared to block a shot with his arm.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the match, Allardyce felt as though his side had been let down by some poor officiating at the Stadium of Light.

"I thought we definitely should have had a penalty," he said. "Mertesacker turned his back on the ball with his arms in the air and stopped what looked like a certain goal. With DeAndre it hit his leg and then his arm, and I think it's difficult to get your arm out of the way in that situation.

"In the second half, we did enough to maybe pinch the game 1-0. Arsenal had chances as well but I thought we coped extremely well with their possession. We've got ourselves out of the bottom three now for the first time in many months and the challenge now for the lads is to stay out of it."

A point lifts Sunderland out of the bottom three on goal difference, with Norwich City dropping into the relegation zone after 34 games.