15mins: Fabricio Coloccini under-hit an attempted pass to Yoan Gouffran short and Hector Bellerin intercepted just inside the United half. His ball to Olivier Giroud saw the Frenchman spray a pass to Alexis that forced him wide on the right, but he was granted time and space to cross for Giroud to head past Jak Alnwick from eight yards, rising above Daryl Janmaat's weak challenge. 0-1

Half time: Arsenal 1 United 0

54 mins: Alexis ran towards the Newcastle box and played in Santi Cazorla who hurdled Coloccini's lazy challenge from a sitting position before expertly clipping the ball past Alnwick and inside the far post from a tight angle. 0-2

58 mins: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain strode forward unchallenged before laying a pass out to Bellerin on the Arsenal right. The full back crossed for Giroud who flicked the ball in off the near post. 0-3

Ayoze reduces the arrears - temporarily

63 mins: Jack Colback's free-kick from the right flank found the unmarked Ayoze Perez and the Spaniard flicked a perfect header that crept inside the far post at the end where the away fans were clustered, celebrating our first goal against the Gunners in 352 minutes of trying. 1-3

88 mins: Danny Welbeck got ahead of Paul Dummett and the full back made a clumsy challenge that sent Welbeck tumbling. Alnwick dived the wrong way and Cazorla chipped the spot kick into the net in a "panenka", although several players were encroaching, including Francis Coquelin who was at least five yards inside the box. 1-4

Full time: Arsenal 4 United 1

Alan Pardew said:

"In terms of the two results the first goal was going to be more significant today; the fact they had got beat and we had a good result.

"I still felt, even at 3-1, that the game was in the balance. If we could have scored the second goal we had half a chance. The demons might have returned from Anderlecht, but we couldn't get ourselves into that position and probably didn't deserve to.

"Arsenal came out flying and had a really good purple patch and we were hanging on. We weren't as efficient with the ball as we have been.

"A lot of the credit has to go to Arsenal, they didn't give us a lot of time and they were quick. We grew into the game a little bit and had a chance to equalise that we should have taken.

"Jak (Alnwick) has to prove he is a goalie, and a top goalie. I did think he was a little bit exposed. We’ve not really defended as a unit a well as we have done in the previous games, particularly Chelsea. We need to re-establish that.

Maybe we took too many risks in trying to get something out of the game, and therefore you are going to expose your defenders and your goalie - we can’t afford to do that.

"I can probably look at one goal as Jak maybe at fault. The second, he might have wanted to stay in his goal a bit longer without coming out. Other than that, I thought he was pretty sound.

“A few times it flashed across, and he got little touches. He kicked it well, looked assured. I can’t lay any blame at his door for this result, and he goes to the next game.

This is a guy who has got in a short period of time an opportunity to make a big name for himself, and he’s the sort of guy you would want to do it. He’s a good honest guy, humble, and another local. So fingers crossed he does well.”

Arsene Wenger:

"In the last six games we have won five, (but) we need a few more wins, against teams around us, to completely lift the confidence. You could see at some stage we were a bit edgy when it was 3-1 and the crowd as well felt the ghost of Anderlecht here a little bit, so we need a few more games.

"On one side, we benefit from it because our supporters become extremely popular. On the other side, the negative is that everybody talks about it and has opinions that are maybe a little bit more difficult to live with when it doesn’t go well.

"I'm grateful for that (the crowd chanting his name) and I enjoy it, but the most important thing is the way we play football. I think what is most important is that our fans go home happy because we have played well and won.

"My job is to win football games and make people happy. What happened last week (booing during the loss to Stoke City) I have worked for 18 years in this country and I've been accepted by 99.9 per cent with a big respect. I can take the 0.1 per cent and live with it. My job is to make people happy - if they are not happy, I have to live with it."
 

The final scoreline may flattered Arsenal but there was an air of inevitability about the opening goal after the Gunners blasted out of the traps and went on the offensive from the first whistle. If the Magpies are prospering because they're playing for their manager, this was evidence that the same is true for Arsenal. And like us, maybe the wakeup call / watershed moment was losing at Stoke. 

Per Mertesacker had already struck the goal frame before Olivier Giroud scored with embarrassing ease. And when Danny Welbeck saw his effort dubiously ruled out just moments later, unpleasant echoes of our 3-7 yuletide stuffing here in 2012 could be heard - only without our trio of goals.   

United sorely missed the drive from midfield of the suspended Moussa Sissoko, while the erratic Steven Taylor (also banned) may have proved to be a more stubborn obstacle than Mike Williamson who looked particularly shaky.

While only Yoan Gouffran (and his boss presumably) will know quite what his half-paced ambles around the field were meant to achieve, Cheick Tiote also had a night to forget. Thankfully though, bookings for Tiote and Daryl Janmaat weren't followed by dismissals - although the Dutchman is now banned for Wednesday's Capital One Cup tie after collecting his fifth yellow of the season.

For all that though, Newcastle could still have gone in on level terms after Szczesny was forced into a double stop on 35 minutes, instinctively denying Gouffran and Cisse when any height in their efforts would surely have seen the net ripple. An earlier penalty claim for a handball by Welbeck was also waved away by referee Mason.  

United's back four continued to look most vulnerable and after a hint of a revival following the resumption, five minute spell just before the hour mark sealed our fate, when Cazorla and Giroud were both given far too much time and space and duly netted from close range.

In between those two strikes, Pardew had tried to respond to going two goals down by putting on Emmanuel Riviere and Remy Cabella for Cisse and Sammy Ameobi. But before United could regroup Giroud hit a clincher and banished any remaining doubts as to the destination of the points.

The visitors did register when Perez provided the perfect header from Jack Colback's free-kick and a 74th minute corner almost ended with a black and white shot on goal, but that's clutching at straws.

Having given up all hope of an unlikely comeback and withdrawn Perez for Adam Armstrong, Paul Dummett upended Welback in the box and Mason pointed to the spot for Cazorla to give the scoreline an unfair slant. There can be few complaints from the visitors though, who had an off night while the Gunners were resolutely on and punished most of their mistakes. 

By the end of the weekend United sat eighth in the table and although wounded by this chastening experience, have no time to feel sorry for themselves before games with an arguably greater significance on Wednesday and Sunday. Don't look back. 

Biffa