Arsenal needed two late goals to secure a 2-0 victory over Swansea at the Liberty Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday.
Nacho Monreal scored his first goal for the club and Gervinho came off the bench to clinch it, as the Gunners moved to within two points of Chelsea in the race for the last Champions League place.
Arsenal was coming off an emotional loss to Bayern Munich on away goals last week and started sluggish in Wales.
The home side probably should have taken the lead 13 minutes in when Angel Rangel slipped in behind the Arsenal back line but could only poke wide when harried by two defenders.
The visitors woke up from their slumber and almost took the lead when Santi Cazorla’s swerving shot was batted down by Michel Vorm.
Arsenal went close again just before the half-time interval but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s curling effort hit the crossbar.
The Gunners looked the more likely side to score when the second half resumed, as Cazorla did well to regain possession at the top of the Swansea box but his weak shot let him down.
All signs were pointing towards a drab 0-0 draw but Monreal popped up to notch his maiden goal for Arsenal when his innocuous looking shot somehow squeezed past Vorm.
The relief on the face of the Gunners was evident for all to see and they pushed forward again looking for the goal that would put the match to bed.
Cazorla had a glorious opportunity to seal all three points for the North London club but his shot took a wicked deflection and flew past the post with Vorm rooted to the spot.
Gervinho then secured the points for the visitors in the 91st minute when he slotted past Vorm after some good work from Aaron Ramsey.
Arsenal will welcome Reading to the Emirates Stadium on March 30th in its next Premier League encounter.