Arsenal survived a second-half comeback from Newcastle United to come away with a 2-1 win at St James' Park in the Premier League this afternoon.

Alexis Sanchez had a chance to put Arsenal ahead early on when he attempted to turn the ball in at the near post, but Ryan Taylor was back on the line to make the clearance.

The Gunners continued to look the more likely though, and they broke the deadlock with just over 20 minutes gone when Danny Welbeck flicked the ball on for Olivier Giroud to scramble it past Tim Krul.

The French international needed just four minutes to add a second as Mike Williamson lost track of the striker while awaiting a corner, allowing Santi Cazorla to set him up for a free header.

Newcastle did see more of the ball before the interval as they tried to get back into the match, but Sammy Ameobi and Taylor were unable to capitalise on half-chances.

It did not take the Magpies long to get a goal back at the start of the second half, though, as Taylor pulled the ball back for Moussa Sissoko, who fired it into the bottom corner.

The home side wanted a penalty with just over an hour gone as Calum Chambers appeared to have handled the ball in the box, but referee Mike Jones was not interested in their appeals.

David Ospina had to survive an onslaught from Newcastle as they pushed for an equaliser, but the Colombian keeper reacted quickly to keep out another Sissoko effort, while Daryl Janmaat fired just wide moments later.

Remy Cabella charged through the middle in a bid to create something for John Carver's men, but Gabriel was on hand to halt his run for the visitors.

There was another shout for a spot kick inside the last 10 minutes as Laurent Koscielny challenged Cabella in the area, but once again Jones was not convinced by the appeals.

Newcastle continued to look dangerous as full time approached, with Ayoze Perez being denied by the feet of Ospina with just a couple of minutes remaining.

The result keeps Arsenal third in the table, while Newcastle slip to 12th.