Arsenal have edged into the FA Cup fifth round with a narrow 3-2 victory away to Brighton & Hove Albion.
It took the holders just two minutes to open the scoring when Theo Walcott found the net for the first time in over a year with a low drive into the bottom corner following good work from Calum Chambers.
The visitors continued to apply pressure on their opponents after that as Aaron Ramsey shot wide before Walcott fluffed his lines after surging forward.
Despite those wasted chances, Arsenal made it 2-0 midway through the half when Mesut Ozil was put through on goal by Tomas Rosicky before slotting in.
Brighton, who struggled to cope with the away team's pace, created a glorious opportunity on 30 minutes through Sam Baldock, but he could only fire over the crossbar in space.
The Seagulls ended the half strongly as Jake Forster-Caskey blasted off target, but they were unable to reduce the deficit.
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That all changed just five minutes after the restart when Chris O'Grady made it 2-1 with a low finish after the visitors had failed to clear their lines.
Brighton were spurred on by this and forced Arsenal further and further back during what was a good spell for the hosts.
However, Arsene Wenger's side landed a killer blow on the hour through Rosicky, who hammered home a ferocious volley following a quick move involving Olivier Giroud.
Brighton were not finished there though, with Baldock setting up a nervy finish when he dinked the ball over Wojciech Szczesny and into the back of the net with 15 minutes left to play.
The Championship outfit committed plenty of men forward during the final stages as they tried to force a replay, only for Arsenal to go up the other and hit the bar through substitute Alex Sanchez before the final whistle.
Jack Prescott
