Arsenal have moved into third position in the Premier League table with a comfortable 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
The Gunners did not have to get out of second gear at the Emirates Stadium, but the game will be remembered for a scorpion kick from Olivier Giroud which went into the net off the underside of the crossbar from 14 yards.
Alex Iwobi got Arsenal's second to take his recent tally to three in six games as Arsene Wenger's team moved back above rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who thrashed Watford earlier on New Year's Day.
After only netting once against West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day, there was an urgency about Arsenal from the opening whistle on Sunday afternoon, and they should have gone ahead after just seven minutes when Giroud missed his kick inside the six-yard box after being set up by Nacho Monreal.
Soon afterwards, Alexis Sanchez lashed a shot just wide of the post from outside the area, before Iwobi was denied by Wayne Hennessey after being set up by Lucas Perez, who was making just his second league start for the Gunners.
However, Arsenal did take the lead in the 17th minute thanks to a goal-of-the-season contender from Giroud, who produced a scorpion kick from 14 yards and found the top corner of the net with Hennessey left with no chance.
The Gunners never let up after establishing an advantage with Mohamed Elneny firing just off target, while Sanchez curled just wide of the far post after cutting in from the left.
Palace struggled to get anything going during the opening 45 minutes with only a tame effort from Yohan Cabaye forcing Petr Cech into any work, although he barely had to move to save from the midfielder.
Arsenal should have doubled their lead with the final action of the first half when Sanchez benefited from confusion in the Palace defence but despite deceiving Scott Dann, he could not beat Hennessey from 12 yards out.
Within 90 seconds of the restart, Palace should have equalised when Christian Benteke got above Hector Bellerin at the back post, only to direct his header wide of the far post.
It was a let-off for Arsenal and 10 minutes later, they made the visitors pay when Iwobi headed in their second goal of the game, with the Nigerian's effort going in off Joel Ward.
Falling two goals behind resulted in Palace producing their best moments of the match, with Benteke seeing a header saved by Cech before Cabaye's 35-yard volley was dealt with by the veteran stopper.
Andros Townsend also forced Cech into a solid intervention with a low drive from the edge of the area, but Palace could not sustain the assault and Arsenal soon regained control of the game.
The remaining half-hour was played without many chances on goal being created, with only efforts from substitutes Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain coming close to a third goal for Arsenal.
While Arsenal strengthened their place in the top four, Palace are left sitting just above the relegation zone, and this performance would have told Sam Allardyce that he must act fast to sign new players in the January transfer window.
Darren Plant
