It definitely wasn't the greatest performance, but goals from Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud kept Arsenal's hopes of a top-four finish alive following a 2-0 win at Southampton.
League trips to Southampton hadn't been kind to us in recent seasons as we headed into the game winless in our last five visits, excluding our thumping 5-0 away victory in the FA Cup back in January.
It looked like it could be another frustrating league encounter at St Mary's as Petr Cech made two crucial saves to keep the scores goalless going in at half-time. But Sanchez's turn and shot finally broke the deadlock on the hour mark before Giroud's late header sealed all three points to lift the Gunners up to fifth.
Arsenal are now three points behind the top four with just three games remaining and, although Manchester City and Liverpool will be firm favourites to finish third and fourth, it isn't mathematically over just yet.
Southampton enjoyed the better of the chances in a fairly quiet opening 20 minutes. Saints' skipper Steven Davies sent an early shot over the bar before Nathan Redmond saw his effort deflected behind for a corner.
Manolo Gabbiadini made a good run forward and put a cross into the box for Dusan Tadic, but Cech got there in the nick of time to get to the ball first and stop any effort at goal.
At the other end Aaron Ramsey fired a low shot wide before both the Welsh midfielder and Sanchez saw efforts blocked by the home defence.
Southampton came closest to opening the scoring on the half hour mark as Shkodran Mustafi recovered well to deny Tadic with a last-minute tackle, but the ball fell to Gabbiadini, whose rebound was excellently kept out by Cech.
Arsenal suffered a blow six minutes later when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has arguably been their best player in recent weeks, was forced off injured and I am keeping my fingers crossed it is only a minor problem as we really need him back soon!
Southampton once again came close to breaking the deadlock just before half-time, but Redmond's powerful strike from outside the box was excellently tipped over by Cech.
Arsenal also wasted a chance on the stroke of half-time as Mustafi's header was comfortably saved by Fraser Forster in the Southampton goal.
Chances were few and far between in the opening 15 minutes of the second half as Davis sent a shot way off target, while at the other end Ramsey's shot sailed wide of a post.
But the Gunners finally made it count on the hour mark when Sanchez produced a great turn and twisted around the defence and worked space for himself to slot the ball home.
Southampton had a chance to level the scores soon after as Gabbiadini surged forward and rounded Cech, only to fire into the side netting, but it mattered little as it was pulled back for offside anyway.
Granit Xhaka nearly netted his second goal in as many games soon after, but his shot from outside the box was well parried by Forster.
Southampton wasted three further chances to get themselves back into the game as James Ward Prowse headed over the bar before Maya Yoshida saw his effort comfortably saved by Cech. Substitute Sofiane Boufal did excellently to beat three players on the edge of the area, but he let himself down with the end product as his shot sailed harmlessly off target.
Those missed opportunities proved costly for the hosts as Giroud, who had only been on the field for three minutes, put the result beyond doubt to seal the points for Arsenal. Sanchez's cross was nodded back across goal by Ramsey for Giroud to power a header home.
With just seven minutes remaining the points looked safe for Arsenal and, in truth, neither side really threatened in the closing stages of the game apart from an off target effort from Boufal.
Arsenal held on to move up to fifth, but whether it will help Arsenal end up in the top four over the next few weeks remains to be seen.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Southampton fan Mavis John was left frustrated by the result, but Gabbiadini gave her reason to take some positives from the match.
"This match seemed to follow the pattern of many Southampton matches these days - not very exciting and the usual inability to put chances away," said John. "14 shots, 3 on target, but no goals.
"Encouragingly though, there was some good play and Gabbiadini looked to have recovered some of the form he'd shown before his injury. Those fans who are fed up of (Claude) Puel won't necessarily change their opinion after this match!"
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
I'm sure any of us watching the game could pick fault with the performance, but I would rather focus on the result and winning the game is what matters most.
I am starting to believe that maybe we can win all our remaining games, but I'm not convinced Manchester City will drop any points. But what is certain is that we have to be ready to take advantage of any slip up by Pep Guardiola's men and Liverpool.
We face Stoke away, which is always a tough trip, in our next game, but it is also one that we are more than capable of getting a result in should we play to our full potential. City and Liverpool also have potential banana skin games against Leicester and West Ham respectively, but I simply can't see City slipping up.
While finishing in the top four remains a mathematical possibility we need to focus on our own task and battle hard until the end and just hope lady luck can do us a favour!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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