Arsenal moved to within two points of the top four in the Premier League courtesy of a comfortable 4-1 win over struggling Reading this afternoon.
Gervinho opened the scoring after 10 minutes but Arsenal were unable to add to their lead in the first half despite dominating possession.
They did finally find a second goal shortly after the restart when Santi Cazorla curled a shot in from the edge of the area, and Olivier Giroud capped off a fast counterattack midway through the half to make it 3-0.
Reading hit straight back with a goal from Hal Robson-Kanu before Mikel Arteta sealed the points once and for all with a penalty 15 minutes from time.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at a dominant performance from the Gunners.
Match statistics:
Arsenal:
Shots 23
On target 14
Possession 61%
Corners 11
Fouls 9
Reading:
Shots 4
On target 2
Possession 39%
Corners 3
Fouls 14
Was the result fair?
Absolutely. Arsenal were the better team from start to finish and seemed almost permanently camped inside the Reading half. It could have, and perhaps should have, been more than 4-1 to the Gunners and but for some admirable defending in the first half, it would've been. Reading can have no complaints as they were outplayed throughout.
Arsenal's performance
Very good. At times they looked like the Arsenal of old, passing the ball around for fun and dominating possession. They were perhaps guilty of trying to pass the ball into the back of the net at times, but that is a very minor criticism in an otherwise superb performance. Manager Arsene Wenger can only really be unhappy about two things in that match - not keeping a clean sheet and not scoring even more goals, and if those are your only worries after a 4-1 win then you know that your team has played well.
Reading's performance
Poor. They offered nothing going forward for the vast majority of the match and their goal was greeted by shocked silence as it was one of their first attacks. Considering how much of the ball Arsenal had in the first half, Reading did well to get to half time only one down, and their defence deserves some credit for that. However, once the second goal went in they went out with a whimper. They will need to play a lot better than that to stay in this division.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Santi Cazorla: Arsenal completely ran the game from start to finish, and Cazorla was at the heart of everything they did. He kept play moving and capped off a masterful midfield performance with a beautifully taken goal. Gervinho deserves a mention for getting a goal and two assists, but Cazorla was a class apart this afternoon.
Biggest gaffe
The biggest gaffe of the game has to go to referee Chris Foy. The man in the middle failed to award Arsenal a penalty when Stuart Taylor clattered into Giroud in the first half with the ball long gone. Giroud wouldn't have got the ball at the other side, but it still should've been a penalty and the referee got that one wrong.
Referee performance
Such was Arsenal's dominance that Foy's performance wasn't in the spotlight as much, but the referee made a few borderline decision and, on each occasion, he may have got them wrong. The penalty decision mentioned above should have been a spot kick, but the penalty decision he did give probably shouldn't have been. It looked as though Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was outside the area when the contact was made before tumbling into the box. Gervinho's goal also had a hint of offside to it, but both incidents were very close calls and tough for the ref to see at full speed.
What next?
Arsenal: The Gunners continue their push for Champions League football when they face West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns next Saturday.
Reading: Reading face a huge relegation battle against Southampton at the Madejski Stadium next week.
Barney Corkhill
