Danny Welbeck struck twice as Arsenal edged past relegation-threatened Southampton 3-2 and both sides saw a player sent off in the final moments of the match.
Getting the three points is what matters most and we scored some well-taken goals, but once again there was some questionable defending on show and that remains a cause for concern.
Mesut Ozil was on the bench and Aaron Ramsey didn't make the squad as it seemed manager Arsene Wenger had one eye on the upcoming Europa League clash with CSKA Moscow.
In some ways rotation is understandable and it is good to see players given a chance such as youngster Reiss Nelson, who made his first Premier League start.
However, as we were already 4-1 up from the first leg against CSKA Moscow I'd like to have seen the likes of Ozil and Ramsey start, unless there were any injury doubts over them.
Southampton started fairly well and fashioned a decent chance after just eight minutes. Dusan Tadic latched onto Jack Stephens' long ball forward before squaring it to James Ward-Prowse, but his effort was cleared off the line by Hector Bellerin. Tadic tried his luck soon after, but his shot was blocked by Calum Chambers.
The visitors were not to be denied after 17 minutes though as Cedric Soares crossed for Shane Long, who nipped in front of Shkodran Mustafi to flick the ball beyond Petr Cech from a tight angle.
Arsenal levelled the score shortly before the half hour mark when Alex Iwobi set up Danny Welbeck, whose deft flick was prodded beyond Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. It was the Gabon striker's sixth goal in eight games as he continues to look a decent attacking threat following his January move to North London.
The Gunners completed the turn around seven minutes before the break when Welbeck raced onto Iwobi's through ball before cutting inside, holding off two challenges, and firing a shot in via a deflection off Maya Yoshida.
Arsenal continued to push forward with Chambers' low shot being blocked behind for a corner as the first half ended 2-1 in the hosts' favour.
Arsenal nearly extended their advantage within two minutes of the restart, but McCarthy beat away Aubameyang's effort before producing an excellent one-handed save to parry Granit Xhaka's shot behind for a corner.
McCarthy was again in the thick of the action after 53 minutes as he produced another equally as impressive one-handed save to parry Iwobi's shot from outside of the box behind for a corner.
At the other end Mohamed Elneny headed Wesley Hoedt's goal-bound effort off the line and Cech parried Long's header behind for a corner. The Southampton striker did have the ball in the net soon after, but his effort was rightly ruled out for offside.
Within a minute of coming on from the bench Charlie Austin found an equaliser for the visitors when he turned in from close range after good build up play from Tadic and Soares.
Arsenal really should have moved back in front soon after as Iwobi clipped the ball in and Jack Wilshere connected with it to set up Welbeck, who somehow spooned it over the crossbar from just a couple of yards out.
Southampton wasted the chance to score again when Austin shot straight at Cech before the Gunners had the final say and re-established their lead nine minutes from time. Iwobi got the better of the defence before crossing for Welbeck to score with a far-post header.
The game wasn't over just yet though and Southampton very nearly got back on level times five minutes from time, but Cech reacted well to palm Tadic's effort over the crossbar.
It became very heated in the final moments of the match as Stephens was sent off after appearing to push Wilshere off the ball after tangling with the Arsenal midfielder, who received a yellow card for his part in the altercation.
The drama wasn't over yet as Arsenal were also reduced to 10 men soon after when Elneny was sent off for a shove on Soares, but the Gunners held on for the win.
The result, coupled with Chelsea's draw against West Ham, sees Arsenal move to within just three points of their fifth-placed London rivals. Southampton on the other hand remain in the relegation zone, although they are only three points away from safety with six games still left to play.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Southampton fan Mavis John was disappointed her side couldn't take advantage of what was an improved display at the Emirates.
"Before the match had kicked off, I accepted that defeat was inevitable on the evidence of the way the team played - or didn't - against West Ham last week," said John. "By the final whistle, I was actually disappointed with the result.
"The team showed spirit (albeit the wrong kind towards the end, Jack Stephens especially) and played particularly well in the second half against a much changed Arsenal side - it's disappointing we couldn't take advantage of that.
"There have been definite signs of improvement under Mark Hughes, but it is clear that the Southampton board (who should take a large chunk of responsibility for the position in which we find ourselves) waited too long before bringing in a new manager.
"He might have got Shane Long scoring at last, but he needs more time to get the whole team performing properly than the six league games currently remaining. There were glimmers of hope from the team's performance against Arsenal, but I fear that nothing short of a miracle will keep us up."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
A mixed performance with some well-taken goals and positive play, but also some frustrating defending, but at least we did what mattered most and got all three points.
I hope Southampton stay up to keep the friends and family I know who support them happy, but it is going to be a difficult ask for them and it is hard to predict what will happen.
Focus must quickly switch back to the Europa League and the second leg of our quarter-final tie away at CSKA Moscow. Although the 4-1 lead from the first leg should be enough I am certainly taken nothing for granted.
Against Southampton we showed some defensive lapses and CSKA Moscow may feel, especially at home, they can score against us, so the players need to make sure they stand up to be counted and preserve our lead.
I don't just want us to preserve the lead though as we shouldn't be going to Russia to defend. We need to go out there to try and win the second leg as a standalone game and add to our aggregate lead. There are some very good teams left in the competition so if we do progress we need to be clinical.
Welbeck getting two goals against Southampton will hopefully put him in the right mindset for the game in Russia, so let's hope we can get another victory before we return to Premier League action away at Newcastle.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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