Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud both struck twice as Arsenal beat Newcastle United 4-1 this evening to move to within two points of the top four in the Premier League.
Giroud's towering header had given the Gunners a slender half-time lead at the Emirates Stadium, before the Frenchman completed his brace minutes after Cazorla had doubled their lead early in the second half.
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Ayoze Perez pulled one back for the Magpies, but Cazorla converted a penalty in the dying stages to cap a comfortable win as the hosts eased the pressure on under-fire manager Arsene Wenger.
The hosts had a chance to open the scoring inside the first 10 minutes when Cazorla flicked the ball on towards Per Mertesacker, but the German defender's header came back off the crossbar.
It did not take the Gunners much longer to open the scoring as they capitalised on a wayward pass from Fabricio Coloccini, which left Alexis Sanchez to set up Giroud to head into the top corner.
Danny Welbeck thought that he had added a second just two minutes later, but his finish was chalked off as referee Lee Mason decided that he had fouled Daryl Janmaat in the build up.
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Welbeck came close again shortly after the half-hour mark when he collected a chip into the box, but his volley was marginally wide of the post.
Newcastle started to create more towards the end of the half, but Yoan Gouffran headed straight at the keeper before Papiss Cisse was also denied from the rebound.
Wenger's side emerged from the interval the better of the sides and doubled their advantage on 54 minutes. Cazorla exchanged a slick one-two with Sanchez, before riding a challenge from Coloccini and floating his shot past the outstretched Jak Alnwick.
The Londoners then took a big step toward the three points four minutes later when Giroud secured his brace by converting Hector Bellerin's near-post cross with a deft finish.
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However, the Magpies responded well and increased anxiety levels inside the Emirates when Giroud conceded a soft free kick, and Perez glanced the resulting set-piece beyond Wojciech Szczesny.
It did not spoil Arsenal's evening, however, as Welbeck won a penalty and Cazorla nonchalantly converted to cap a rousing win which resulted in Wenger's name echoing around the stadium at full time.
Shane Callaghan
