Arsenal survived a late scare against Crystal Palace to secure a 2-1 victory at Selhurst Park and climb up to third place in the Premier League table.

Palace dominated much of the ball in attacking positions, although they failed to make it count until the dying stages as the visitors left South London with all three points.

Santi Cazorla opened the scoring from the spot inside the opening 10 minutes, after Pape Souare gave away a penalty on his top-flight debut, and, despite Glenn Murray pulling one back at the death, the damage had already been done thanks to Olivier Giroud's close-range finish.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at how the 90 minutes of action unfolded in this London derby.

Match statistics

CRYSTAL PALACE
Shots: 12
On target: 3
Possession: 53%
Corners: 10
Fouls: 14

Arsenal
Shots: 9
On target: 4
Possession: 47%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 14

Was the result fair?

Having been allowed to cruise through almost the entire game without leaving first gear, this really would have been a disaster had Arsenal thrown the game away at the death. In many ways it was a classic away performance as the Gunners soaked up a load of pressure in and around their box, before springing counter-attacking moves and very much wrapping up the game inside the opening 45 minutes.

The pattern of the game continued in the second half as Palace, now without a clean sheet at home in five months, continued to knock on the door without really troubling the visitors. That was until the final seconds of the game, at least, when the introduction of two strikers saw one of them, Murray, bundle home from a corner before hitting the post just seconds after the restart. In the end it was a case of too little, too late for the Eagles, who are still left looking over their shoulder in 13th place.

Crystal Palace's performance

Alan Pardew has done a fine job since taking over at Selhurst Park in January, winning six of his nine games in charge of the club, but this is arguably the fourth home game in succession under his tenure now where Palace have looked a little blunt in front of goal. They certainly had enough of the ball in attacking positions, but the final ball into the box was woeful on occasions.

Only two teams in the division, Aston Villa and Leicester City, can hold claim to having a worse home record than the South London outfit this term, which could prove costly at the end of the campaign. There is no shame in losing to a side like Arsenal, of course, but the underlying issues remain clear to see. Wilfried Zaha continues to impress and frustrate in equal measure when on the ball, and it was not until the introduction of Yannick Bolasie, who is still not fully fit after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, that Pardew's men improved their delivery. There are certainly positives to take away from this slender defeat, but they need to improve in the final third in their coming fixtures if a mid-table finish is to be on the cards.

Arsenal's performance

When it comes to totting up the points at the end of the season, this really could be a huge weekend for the Gunners in the grand scheme of things. With top-four rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Southampton not playing until tomorrow - two of them against each other - this contest provided Arsene Wenger's charges with a real chance to get a foothold on a Champions League qualification berth for next season. Results elsewhere, however, means that Arsenal may not be giving up hope on closing down leaders Chelsea, considering the form that they are currently in.

It is now 12 wins from their last 15 games since that Stoke City debacle in early December, with just two defeats from those fixtures. This was not really a day for Arsenal's attacking talents to shine, even though two of them did manage to get on the scoresheet. This was mainly an afternoon about the team coming together to grind out a fairly straightforward victory. Not a great deal was learned about the Gunners at Selhurst Park, a ground which continues to provide far more happier memories than bad, other than the fact that they will battle away in their search of success on three fronts, which continues with a huge match against Monaco in midweek.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Olivier Giroud: It is difficult to pick out a man of the match on an afternoon where no individual player truly shone for either side. Giroud did manage to find the net for his 50th Arsenal goal, however, despite barely being involved for large parts. That is now five goals and three assists in seven outings for the in-form Frenchman.

Biggest gaffe

Just seven minutes into his Premier League debut, Souare's challenge on Danny Welbeck paved the way for the visitors to make an early breakthrough at Selhurst Park. The January recruit did well to recover on the whole, but he really should have been clearing the ball rather than trying his luck with the challenge.

Referee performance

A fairly mixed afternoon for Mark Clattenburg. He got a few calls wrong inside the opening five minutes which is never great, but he appeared to get the biggest decision of all correct. Welbeck was right on the line of the 18-yard box when challenged by Souare, which means that the experienced official was right to point to the spot.

What next?

Crystal Palace: A tough run awaits Palace, who have two more London derbies to look forward to in the coming weeks. West Ham United provide the opposition next time out, with the target at this stage still very much to avoid relegation.

Arsenal: A big month lies in wait for the Gunners, who are still challenging in the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in the final third of the season. Everton provide the opposition when they return to top-flight action next weekend.