Goals from Laurent Koscielny and Theo Walcott saw Arsenal bounce back from their derby day defeat to move back into the top four with a 2-1 win over bottom club Leicester.
The Foxes have been in the news a lot in recent days following strong rumours that manager Nigel Pearson had been sacked. Although it took them a while to eventually release a statement to deny this and confirm Pearson was still in charge the club performed well in the circumstances at the Emirates. It remains to be seen if he will still be in the job when Leicester next take to the field but he can be proud of his side's efforts against the Gunners.
As for Arsenal, it was a far from convincing display from the hosts but they were able to recover from the recent defeat at Tottenham to get all three points and leapfrog their neighbours in the table and that's what matters most, although performances will need to improve in the coming weeks.
The result itself continued Arsenal's fine run of home form, with the Gunners now having lost just one of their last 30 home league games, but it was the visitors who made the brighter start to the match.
Riyad Mahrez twice went close to giving Leicester the lead inside the opening 15 minutes. The Algeria international twisted and turned through the defence and cut inside Nacho Monreal before seeing his shot deflect wide. Mahrez was causing the Arsenal defence real problems but the next time he cleverly worked his way into the box his end product let him down and he sent a shot across the face of goal.
The hosts also wasted a chance to break the deadlock when Ozil's perfectly weighted pass found Walcott, but veteran goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was on hand to deny him.
The Gunners were beginning to find their stride and they made it count by scoring the opening goal of the game after 27 minutes. Schwarzer had done superbly to keep out Ozil but, from the German international's resulting corner, Koscielny evaded his marker to ghost in and score from close range.
The visitors wasted an opportunity to level the scores when the lively Mahrez headed over the bar before bending a shot just wide moments later. The Foxes were made to pay for not converting their chances when Arsenal doubled their advantage four minutes before the break. Schwarzer could only parry Ozil's long-range strike and Walcott was on hand to smash the rebound into the bottom corner.
Arsenal were by no means at their best in the first half but they scored goals when it mattered in what turned out to be a fairly positive first half. The main negative was seeing Alexis Sanchez, who returned to the side following his recovery from a hamstring problem, pick up a knock and then appear to be holding his knee. Sanchez was later withdrawn after 67 minutes but hopefully that was more to rest him and ensure he doesn't suffer any further damage. We definitely can't afford to be without him for too many games, so let's hope it is nothing more than a small knock that he is able to quickly recover from.
Arsene Wenger's men started the second half with real purpose as they saw a penalty appeal for handball waved away before Tomas Rosicky volleyed wide inside two minutes of the restart.
Kramaric pulled a goal back for the visitors with a well-taken goal after 61 minutes. The Croatian striker had forced Ospina into a smart save earlier on in the second half before Per Mertesacker was forced to head clear off the line. Kramaric made no mistake with his next chance as Arsenal failed to clear Mahrez's cross and Kramaric lashed the ball home.
The game could've swung either way as the hosts almost restored their two-goal advantage soon after but Santi Cazorla's effort was well kept out by Schwarzer.
It was then Leicester's turn to try and find an equaliser as Mahrez again ran at the Gunners' defence, only to curl his effort wide of the mark. But the Foxes best chance fell to that man Kramaric 12 minutes from time. With a seemingly simple chance to level matters the forward instead opted for a cheeky chip, which was easily caught by the Colombian shot-stopper.
Arsenal were dealt a blow when substitute Aaron Ramsey, who had only been on the field for nine minutes, was forced off injured before Ozil appeared to pick up a knock. Fortunately for the hosts Ozil was able to continue.
The game ended in a more nervy fashion than many would have anticipated but Arsene Wenger's men held on to move them back above Spurs into fourth place following their rivals' 3-2 defeat at Liverpool. The Gunners are now only goal difference off third position in the table, although the teams either side of them (Southampton and Manchester United) both have a game in hand.
Focus must now turn to the FA Cup as Arsenal hope to continue the defence of their title when they host Championship high-flyers Middlesbrough. It will not be an easy contest and we will have to be at the top of our game to avoid any potential banana skin. We will need to up our performance level but if we show the right amount of hunger and desire and play as I know we can we should get through.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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