David Ginola brought his own special brand of trickery back to the Premiership but it was the hard-nosed men from north London who walked off with the points.

Arsenal's hard-earned win at Everton keeps the Gunners firmly in the title hunt and, in truth, they were better than the one goal suggested after Sylvain Wiltord's 12th of the season maintained their unbeaten away league record.

Everton fought hard but even this strange-looking Arsenal side, hit by injuries and suspensions, had too much in their locker for the Goodison Park side who are being slowly dragged into the relegation dogfight.

With their next two league games against Liverpool and Leeds, the danger signs are there for Walter Smith's assortment of old hands, workers and youngsters to see.

Arsenal picked up another five bookings to take their total for the season to 75 but they rarely looked like conceding a goal.

New arrival Ginola, who had not played for nearly three months, took centre stage on his Everton debut after coming in from the cold at Aston Villa.

But manager Smith, already without Duncan Ferguson, opted not to risk two showmen in the starting line-up and Paul Gascoigne left on the bench.

Arsenal, who simply could not afford to lose with title rivals Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle all winning over the weekend, had their problems.

Ashley Cole was out injured while Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp were suspended.

But they did have David Seaman and ex-Everton striker Francis Jeffers making their comebacks on the bench, while boss Arsene Wenger needed to bring in Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Gilles Grimandi and Igors Stepanovs.

Ginola wanted the ball from the start, perhaps aware that after such a long time without Premiership football his 35-year-old legs might not last the course.

Minutes into the game he unleashed a 20-yard drive which deflected just wide off Stepanovs.

The Frenchman then saw a curling free-kick from outside the box fly fractionally wide of Richard Wright's left-hand post.

Arsenal started with a lethargic air about them and managed to pick up three first-half bookings for Sol Campbell, Stepanovs and Ray Parlour - all avoidable and born of sloppy tackling.

Everton's other new boy, Lee Carsley, soon impressed, winning possession and linking well with defence or attackers.

Ginola should have scored after a fine passing move involving Jesper Blomqvist and Carsley which ended with the ball being laid across the box for the Frenchman to shoot wide from 15 yards out.

After 31 minutes Arsenal lost Matthew Upson, who had been struggling with a leg injury after a Carsley tackle, and Steve Simonsen's first real test in the Everton goal came a minute later when he fielded a low drive from Thierry Henry.

But Arsenal started to move up a gear as half-time approached and the pace of Wiltord and Henry began to cause problems for Everton's defence.

A 35-yard free-kick from Henry was tipped over the bar by Simonsen as Arsenal pushed for the opening goal.

Soon after the break Arsenal old boy Kevin Campbell had a strong appeal for a penalty waved aside by referee Jeff Winter, despite Stepanovs having sent the big striker tumbling as he clutched his opponent's shirt.

But Arsenal's control continued to grow. Ray Parlour surged through the middle to send in a fierce drive which Simonsen blocked with some difficulty and the keeper was thankful for David Weir's clearance in the six-yard box.

Ginola began, not surprisingly, to struggle for fitness in the last 20 minutes but still managed some party pieces.

But Arsenal started to stretch Everton at every opportunity with their probing and pace - and the home side finally cracked after 62 minutes.

Blomqvist gave the ball away to Patrick Vieira - by far the best player on the pitch - and the clever chip which followed put Wiltord into space.

His rather fortunate hook then deceived Simonsen as it spun over the advancing keeper.

For a moment it looked like the ball was going to miss the far post, but Simonsen realised too late that it was destined for the far side of the net and his frantic dash across the line could not stop Arsenal taking the lead.

Gascoigne got into the action after 70 minutes in place of David Unsworth - Everton boss Smith by now prepared to risk Ginola and Gascoigne on the pitch together.

It was a gamble worth taking because despite all their running and effort, Everton could not open up the Gunners defence.

Pembridge came on for Blomqvist after 77 minutes and two minutes later Oleg Luzhny became Arsenal's fourth booking for tripping youngster Peter Clarke.

Clarke, who had a excellent game at full-back, was taken off with four minutes left and another striker, Joe-Max Moore, thrown into the fray.

Henry was booked for a strange lunging tackle in the dying moments but it was too late for the hosts as Arsenal cruised to a hard but well-earned victory.

Teams

Everton: Simonsen, Clarke (Moore 86), Weir, Stubbs, Unsworth (Gascoigne 70), Blomqvist (Pembridge 77), Carsley, Linderoth, Naysmith, Campbell, Ginola.

Subs Not Used: Gerrard, Cleland.

Arsenal: Wright, Luzhny, Stepanovs, Campbell, Upson (Dixon 31), Parlour, Vieira, Grimandi, van Bronckhorst, Wiltord, Henry.

Subs Not Used: Seaman, Jeffers, Edu, Inamoto.

Booked: Campbell, Stepanovs, Parlour, Luzhny, Henry.

Goals: Wiltord 62.

Att: 30,859

Ref: J Winter (Stockton-on-Tees).