Arsenal returned to winning ways as goals from Mohamed Elneny and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang secured a dominant 2-0 victory over Newcastle at St James' Park
Mohamed Elneny volleyed in his first Premier League goal inside five minutes before Aubameyang marked his first start since April 3 with the Gunners' second midway through the second half
Newcastle had moved to within touching distance of mathematical Premier League safety with a four-game unbeaten run before Arsenal's trip to Tyneside but were completely outplayed, registering just a single attempt on target, before Fabian Schar's late dismissal compounded a miserable outing for Steve Bruce's side
Arsenal's first league win in three lifts them up to ninth and provides a timely boost ahead of Thursday's Europa League showdown with Villarreal, while Newcastle stay 17th, nine points clear of the relegation zone with four games remaining
Mikel Arteta left no room for doubt that salvaging Arsenal's season in Thursday's Europa League semi-final second leg against Villarreal was the priority as he made eight changes from midweek first-leg defeat
But instead of weakening his side, Arteta's alterations inspired Arsenal to a dominant first-half performance which was capped with the opener inside five minutes
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should have delivered it on his return to the Arsenal starting line-up but his mis-hit from Hector Bellerin's cross turned the ball into the path of Elneny, who volleyed in his first Premier League goal for the Gunners at the 66th attempt
Arsenal's breakthrough momentarily sparked Newcastle into life and they almost equalised on 18 minutes when Allan Saint-Maximin's scuffed shot looked set to loop in, but Mat Ryan scrambled back in time to tip it over and the Magpies wouldn't register another attempt on target in the half
Instead, Arsenal peppered the Newcastle goal in search of a second, with Granit Xhaka's left-footed thunderbolt forcing a fine save from Martin Dubravka before Miguel Almiron prevented Elneny heading in his second from a corner with a brilliant goal-line clearance
A tactical alternation shifted Newcastle further up the field after the break and the hosts were more competitive, but the better chances continued to fall for Arsenal, with Gabriel Magalhaes heading a glorious opportunity over on 63 minutes
But Arsenal's second soon came in emphatic style as a flowing one-touch move ended with Gabriel Martinelli exquisitely finding Aubameyang at the back post to volley in his first goal since March 6
Jonjo Shelvey's blocked shot from distance was a close as Newcastle came to salvaging something from the game, and things went from bad to worse in stoppage time when Schar, making his first appearance since February 6, was given his marching orders for a rash lunge on Martinelli
"Arsenal were very impressive; from the get-go they were on the front foot
 Newcastle didn't get going, the initiative was handed to Arsenal and they bossed it from the first minute through to the last
"Newcastle knew one more win would make them safe and they to start right against an Arsenal side who may have an eye on the Europa League game in midweek
"Newcastle turned up as if their season was already over and that shouldn't have been the case against a team that was a little bit fragile
""The better team won, that's for sure
 Arsenal were very good and weren't quite at the level we have been for the last few weeks
 When you play against the big teams you cannot afford to gift them a goal like we did, it's always difficult to be down after four minutes and we found it tough
"We stuck at it, our best period of the game was just after half-time, but they scored again, and we didn't carry the threat we've carried before, which was unfortunate
"I couldn't fault the effort and commitment from the players, we simply weren't good enough on the day to beat them
" "This game showed our focus is still there in the Premier League
 We believe that anything is possible if you're picking up points and we wanted to put bad results out of the way
"We had a great attitude, some moments of real quality and had total control from the start
 We refreshed the team because we've played so many games
 Thursday was very demanding, but the team was really committed and focussed on this game and that's why we won
"We controlled the game and we accelerated when it was needed
 The early goal gave us confidence which we needed after the defeat on Thursday
 We have to do as well as we can and finish as high as we can
 You need big performances and we had that today
"Arsenal host Villarreal in their Europa League semi-final second leg on Thursday at 8pm
 Newcastle travel to Leicester on at 8pm - live on Sky Sports Premier League - before Arsenal entertain West Brom on Sunday at 7pm
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>
<PAD>