Goals from Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette fired Arsenal to third place on the Premier League table after beating Newcastle 2-0 at the Emirates stadium on Monday night.
The Gunners had a slow start to the match as Ramsey had a goal disallowed because of a foul by Sokratis and there were no shots within the first 30 minutes.
On the half hour mark however, Ramsey played a good flick on to Lacazette who squared up the midfielder who then slotted the ball into the bottom right corner to open the scoring with first shot of the match.
The goal brought the game to life as Leno had to be alert to deny Salomon Rondon on the other end almost immediately after the goal.
On the brink of half-time, Matt Ritchie made a superb goal-line clearance to block a volley on the turn by Lacazette as the Arsenal went into the break with a one-goal advantage.
The second half saw Arsenal pick up where they left off as they continued to dominate proceedings. Ramsey was forced to leave the field with an injury whilst Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came on for the last 30-minutes after being left out of the starting line up because of illness.
Newcastle tried to press for an equalizer but in the end, Lacazette dealt the final blow in the 83rd minute as he chipped the ball over Martin Dubravka to double the lead for Arsenal and seal the victory.
The win means that Arsenal now climb up to third place ahead of North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. Both Spurs and United play midweek which means that the pressure could well be back on Arsenal on the weekend but as it stands, if all three were to win all their remaining games, Arsenal will finish third.
