Goals from Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi have earned Arsenal a 2-0 victory away at Everton, a result which closes the gap on second-placed Tottenham Hotspur to three points.
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Everton almost opened the scoring in just over a minute when Seamus Coleman struck the post with a flick at the near post, but moments later, Welbeck hit the woodwork at the other end after the ball ricocheted off his leg after a mazy run along the byline.
However, five minutes later, the Gunners forward benefited from a passing sequence involving Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez before rounding Joel Robles and tapping into an empty net.
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Everton did not offer much in the way of a response, with a tame effort from Muhamed Besic their only chance on goal, and three minutes before the break, Arsenal doubled their advantage.
A long ball from Hector Bellerin caught out the Toffees backline, giving Iwobi the opportunity to surge clear of Ramiro Funes Mori and slide the ball through the legs of Robles and into the net.
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John Stones was introduced at half time as Roberto Martinez switched to a back three, but it did not help their cause as chances remained few and far between.
Phil Jagielka should have equalised in the 70th minute, however, after meeting the ball at the near post but he mistimed his jump and what should have been a routine header rebounded off his shoulder and went over the crossbar.
Romelu Lukaku, who was kept quiet by Laurent Koscielny throughout the 90 minutes, had a late chance but his downward header was tame and straight into the hands of David Ospina.
Darren Plant
