Arsenal have booked their spot in the fourth round of the FA Cup thanks to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Hull City in a repeat of last season's final.
The hosts had a chance to break the deadlock within the first five minutes when Joel Campbell and Alexis Sanchez combined in Hull's final third, but with only Steve Harper to beat, the Costa Rica international couldn't get a shot past the veteran goalkeeper.
Just before the quarter-hour mark, Sanchez had to be denied by a last-ditch Harry Maguire block in front of goal, and despite reclaiming the ball back, the Chilean could only dink the ball onto the roof of the net.
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Moments later, it was the visitors' turn to threaten, Thomas Ince marauding forward and weaving past two defenders, but his low strike flew a yard wide of the post.
In the 20th minute, Arsenal opened the scoring through Per Mertesacker, who rose high into the Hull box before planting a firm header into the net.
From then on, Arsene Wenger's charges dominated proceedings, as Sanchez fired towards an empty net, only for Paul McShane to make a last-ditch block.
On the half-hour mark, Steve Bruce's side managed to draw a save from David Ospina following a Maguire header, but aside from that, it was mostly one-way traffic for the North London outfit come the half-time whistle.
Following the restart, Arsenal came within a whisker of doubling their lead when Sanchez made the most of Ince's mis-kicked pass to drift into space and have a shot, but Harper was able to save.
The game then appeared to go through the motions as the hosts lowered their pace and found themselves struggling to retain possession, but still showed flashes of intent going forward.
Despite an improved display in possession by Hull, it was Arsenal who continued to create the better chances, and Theo Walcott was guilty of missing a great opportunity when he miscued an effort wide after beating the offside trap.
It was left to Sanchez to secure the win in impressive fashion as turned on the edge of the box before firing home to add a deserved goal to a fine individual display.
Hull threatened to set up a dramatic finish when Ince sent a half volley just wide late on, but the Gunners were able to ease to victory in stoppage time.
Giuseppe Labellarte
