Arsenal are on course to move to the top of the Premier League after heading into the interval with a 2-1 lead over Everton at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners created the first clear-cut chance of the match when Santi Cazorla found the head of Olivier Giroud from a corner, but the Frenchman skewed his effort wide.
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Another Cazorla corner caused Everton problems in the 10th minute, Brazilian defender Gabriel Paulista meeting this one with a header that sailed harmlessly over.
Everton's first goalscoring opportunity came almost half an hour in as Petr Cech fumbled a cross from Aaron Lennon into the path of John Stones, but the defender could only drag his shot wide.
Arsenal broke the deadlock in the 36th minute through Giroud, who scored for the third game running by applying a deft touch to a measured cross from Mesut Ozil to guide the ball beyond Tim Howard.
It was 2-0 two minutes later as Laurent Koscielny flicked a header beyond Howard from a Cazorla cross, but Everton found a lifeline just before half time.
Ross Barkley gained possession in the final third and let fly from the edge of the box, his effort beating Cech with the aid of a deflection to give the Toffees everything to play for in the second half.
Mark Langshaw
