Arsenal defeated Everton at Goodison Park thanks to two first-half goals from Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi. With the win, the Gunners moved to within three points of North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and eight behind leaders Leicester City.
The win capped a decisive performance from Arsene Wenger's side, as they overcame the absence of many of their regular players due to injury. Though Everton did attempt to carve out many chances, they weren't able to fashion out openings that were clearcut enough to be able to score from.
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The game got off to an electric start, as both teams hit the woodwork. Hosts Everton saw Seamus Coleman put his effort on to the post while immediately after that, the ball cannoned off Danny Welbeck after the clearance by Muhamed Besic.and hit the post.
The North London outfit took the lead in the 7th minute, scoring through Danny Welbeck after a lovely team move, with Bellerin playing the ball through to Alexis Sanchez, who played a deft pass in behind the defence, releasing Danny Welbeck, who did not make a mistake with the finish, running past Robles in goal to roll the ball into an empty net.
A couple of other opportunities saw Mesut Ozil's pass blocked by Phil Jagielka while Alexis Sanchez was denied a penalty despite being fouled by Sanchez Mori.
Everton were looking very open, and their defence was badly exposed, with the midfield duo of Besic and McCarthy unable to offer sufficient protection. Alex Iwobi had a chance to score his first goal for the club, but shot it straight at Robles, who made an easy save.
Iwobi though, did not make a mistake, when presented with another chance, finishing neatly under the goalkeeper after being put clear on goal by Hector Bellerin's lovely ball. At the break, Arsenal had taken a deserved 2-0 lead.
The second half saw multiple opportunities being created by the Gunners, but there were not able to convert them into goals. Substitute Olivier Giroud was particularly guilty of spurning a couple of good goalscoring chances as the Everton defence struggled to hold on.
Though Everton exerted a lot of pressure and put in a lot of crosses into the penalty box, they were unable to actually test Ospina a lot, as they clearly lacked the necessary cutting edge to force the issue. The closest the Toffees came to scoring was when Phil Jagielka headed over while Cleverley had a go from outside the box but saw his effort blocked by Gabriel.
Arsenal will take some encouragement after their brilliant performance on the night against Everton and will look to carry it over in the league once they resume action after the international break.
