Arsenal Spank Southampton 3-0
Arsenal boosted their Champions League qualification hopes as they cruised past Southampton at the Emirates Stadium despite captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang being dropped from the squad.
And Martin Odegaard doubled the lead six minutes later, heading home from close range.
Arsenal dominated throughout and added a third after 62 minutes with defender Gabriel nodding in a Gabriel Martinelli corner.
The Gunners jump up to fifth in the Premier League table, one point off the top four, while Southampton stay 16th.
All the pre-match talk was around Aubameyang, with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta saying the striker was missing out due to a disciplinary breach.
“I think we have been very consistent, that we have certain non-negotiables in the team that we have set ourselves as a club,” Arteta added.
It is not the first time the Spaniard has dropped Aubameyang for disciplinary reasons. In March, the Gabon international missed a win over rivals Tottenham for a “breach of pre-match protocol”.
But after a slow start, pre-match incidents were soon forgotten as Lacazette converted Bukayo Saka’s cross, completing a team move that started with keeper Aaron Ramsdale.
And minutes later Arsenal grabbed a second with Odegaard meeting Kieran Tierney’s header to score a third goal in as many matches.
Arsenal’s dominance continued after the break with Gabriel scoring moments after he had had a goal chalked off for offside.
Martinelli then curled a strike against the post midway through the second half, with Saka also striking the woodwork and Takehiro Tomiyasu forcing a fine stop from keeper Willy Caballero.
The hosts continued to impress in the closing stages, winning in style to end a run of back-to-back defeats.