Arsenal bounced back from their disappointing midweek defeat to Monaco by beating Everton 2-0 this afternoon to gain a tight grip on a top-four spot in the Premier League.
Goals in either half from Olivier Giroud and substitute Tomas Rosicky sealed the win for a Gunners side still reeling from their disastrous 3-1 reverse at the hands of Monaco on Wednesday night.
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A quiet opening period saw the visiting side enjoy the bulk of possession, but there was little goalmouth action until Muhamed Besic fired well over following a strong run by Romelu Lukaku.
The Everton striker then stole the ball from Gabriel Paulista, but David Ospina's quick closing down prevented Lukaku from getting his shot away.
Paulista's nervy afternoon continued when his wayward header from the edge of his own box nearly fell for Ross Barkley, but Ospina was alert to the danger and rescued the Gunners.
Arsenal's first chance came when Giroud threw himself at Alexis Sanchez's near post cross from the left, but the French striker could only send his header inches wide of goal.
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January signing Paulista then redeemed himself for earlier errors with a perfectly-timed last ditch tackle on Lukaku, as the Everton man looked set to pull the trigger following a surge into the Arsenal box.
With half time looming, Giroud followed his teammate's example when he made amends for his earlier miss by sweeping home the opener from Mesut Ozil's corner.
Much like in the first half, the second period started very flat bar some early Everton pressure, and it took a fine save from Ospina to deny the Toffees from levelling up when Lukaku diverted Barkley's cross goalwards.
Aaron Lennon was the next visiting play to see a chance come and go as he found himself unmarked inside the box after being picked out by Seamus Coleman, but he could not find a way past the Colombian stopper.
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Despite Roberto Martinez's side applying some pressure, it really should have been game over with eight minutes remaining when Ozil was played through on goal by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, only to ponder over his shot and allow Phil Jagielka enough time to track back and deny the German World Cup winner.
Arsenal did make sure of the points late on thanks to Rosicky's drive from range, which took a wicked deflection on its way through to leave Tim Howard with no chance.
A facial injury to Francis Coquelin shortly before that decisive strike ensured that seven minutes of additional time was added on at the Emirates Stadium, although it was Arsene Wenger's men who looked the more likely to add a third in the closing stages.
In the end, they were more than happy to settle for the two-goal win which sees them climb up to third place in the league table, while Everton, now with only one win in their last 11 outings, are struggling down in 14th place.
Daniel Lewis
