Arsenal made a return to winning ways on Saturday afternoon as they narrowly defeated Queens Park Rangers 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

Mikel Arteta scored the only goal of the game with seven minutes left to play after QPR's Stephane Mbia had got himself sent off for kicking out at Thomas Vermaelen.

While the Gunners have moved up to fourth in the Premier League table, the R's are still rooted to the bottom without a win after nine matches.

Sports Mole takes a closer look at the encounter between the local rivals.

Match statistics:

Arsenal:
Shots 21
On target 11
Possession 70%
Corners 5
Fouls 14

QPR:
Shots 4
On target 3
Possession 30%
Corners 2
Fouls 9

Was the result fair?

The Gunners had the far better chances throughout the contest and were rewarded for their persistence when Arteta poked home. That said, QPR occasionally put some decent moves together and could have earned themselves a point in the final minutes.

Arsenal's performance

At times their play was fairly one-dimensional, but the introductions of Theo Walcott and Andriy Arshavin shook things up. Jack Wilshere's return was a huge boost for the Gunners and he provided much of their attacking dynamism before being substituted on 67 minutes.

QPR's performance

Indiscipline again cost the R's as Mbia was stupidly sent off for lashing out at Thomas Vermaelen with 10 minutes left to play. Until then they had rode their luck and had goalkeeper Julio Cesar to thank for keeping the score down, but they may well have snatched a point if the had remained with 11 men on the pitch.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Julio Cesar: It would be wonderful to give the accolade to Wilshere, but the QPR goalkeeper pulled off some incredible saves in the second half to keep his side in the match. The less said about his erratic first half the better.

Biggest gaffe of the game

It could only be Mbia's sending-off. Only he will know why he lashed out at Vermaelen, but it cost his side dearly.

Referee performance

Anthony Taylor blew up far too often for some soft free kicks (especially in the favour of the home side) but he was right to give Mbia his marching orders.

What next?

Arsenal: Expect manager Arsene Wenger to put an experimental side out on Tuesday when they visit Reading in the fourth round of the Carling Cup.

QPR: Funnily enough QPR also have the Royals, but they will have to wait until Sunday to face them in the league at Loftus Road. In all seriousness, that's a must win for Mark Hughes's men.