Arsenal's hopes of ending their nine-year wait for FA Cup success are still alive after today's 4-1 victory over Everton which saw them into the semi-finals.

It was an electric encounter at the Emirates Stadium that was close up until the 83rd minute when Gunners substitute Olivier Giroud scored twice in three minutes to make the result look more comfortable than it was.

The London outfit took the lead early on in the seventh minute when Mesut Ozil rolled home before Everton levelled just after the half-hour mark through Romelu Lukaku.

The home side regained the lead midway through the second half when Mikel Arteta scored a penalty following Gareth Barry's trip on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Everton looked like they might be able to nick a draw and replay until Giroud's quickfire brace ended their hopes of reaching Wembley.

Here, Sports Mole digs a little deeper.

Match statistics

Arsenal
Shots: 17
On target: 9
Possession: 52%
Corners: 13
Fouls: 9

Everton
Shots: 11
On target: 3
Possession: 48%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 15

Was the result fair?

Arsenal deserved to go through but the 4-1 result was harsh on Everton. They were right there until Giroud's double and will feel hard done by.

Arsenal's performance

A hugely important result for the Gunners and they go into Tuesday's Champions League second leg against Everton in a confident mood. Today's performance was the perfect retort to last week's limp display at Stoke. There were solid performances throughout the team, but manager Arsene Wenger will be particularly pleased with Thomas Vermaelen, who dealt extremely well with the threat of his Belgian international teammate Romelu Lukaku on his first performance for a couple of months, and Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose tireless running caused Everton plenty of problems and Ozil, who looked rejuvenated and lively. Wenger will be hoping that the winner of the Sheffield United-Charlton quarter comes out of the hat with them tomorrow so that their route to the final is as easy as possible.

Everton's performance

Another strong display from Everton against one of the top sides but like many other occasions this season, they didn't get the rub of the green and ultimately fell short. They started really well and Ozil's goal was completely against the run of play. Starting Ross Barkley was a risky call from Roberto Martinez, but it paid off as the England youngster's creativity caused Arsenal plenty of problems. His run and cross for Everton's goal was simply brilliant and will have fans calling for him to be on the plane to Brazil. Elsewhere, the likes of John Stones and James McCarthy impressed with their willingness to win the ball back.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Mesut Ozil: One of the German's best performances for a while. He scored his first goal at the Emirates since Everton's last visit in the league back in September and also set up Giroud's second with a perfectly-weighted pass. He ran hard and tracked back and will have impressed Arsenal supporters with his display.

Biggest gaffe

Although we've praised Barkley, his miss from inside the box when the game was locked at 1-1 was a big moment in the game. The 20-year-old has lovely technique and you'd back him to hit the target but he blazed over.

Referee performance

Mark Clattenburg had a pretty good game with the whistle, correctly awarding the penalty. Barry's trip was soft, but he clearly impeded fellow Englishman Oxlade-Chamberlain. Clattenburg then made Arteta re-take the penalty because of Giroud's encroaching. The correct call by the book, but a little petty.

What next?

Arsenal: The tough games keep on coming for Arsenal as they travel to Bayern Munich on Tuesday before then going to North London rivals Spurs on Saturday.

Everton: Martinez's men, meanwhile, travel to the North-East to play Newcastle United next Sunday.