The defender was on target with a volley after the Magpies had made life difficult for the in-form Gunners, who also celebrated Leicester's draw to move clear at the summit
Laurent Koscielny netted the only goal of the game as Arsenal went two points clear at the top of the Premier League with a less than convincing 1-0 victory over struggling Newcastle Unitedon Saturday.
Koscielny, along with Nacho Monreal and Mathieu Flamini, was one of three Arsenal changes from the 2-0 win over AFC Bournemouth last time out and the France defender's 72nd-minute effort proved decisive at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech - who set a new Premier League record of 170 clean sheets in the success over Bournemouth - showed his class once again, superbly denying Georginio Wijnaldum on three occasions prior to Koscielny's winner.
The breakthrough came following a corner, with Koscielny on hand to prod home from close range from Olivier Giroud's header.
Defeat means Newcastle - who warmed up with t-shirts adorned with the message 'Pavel is a Geordie' following the death of their former keeper Pavel Srnicek earlier this week - see their winless run extended to four matches.
Steve McClaren will likely be encouraged by his side's spirited performance, although they remain in the bottom three, while Arsenal took advantage after Leicester City could only draw 0-0 with Bournemouth.
The home side began brightly and carved out the opening chance in the second minute when Hector Bellerin got away down the right, but his firm cutback was stabbed wide by a stretching Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
After weathering an early storm, Newcastle gained a foothold in the game and Cech was forced to keep out Wijnaldum's header low to his right before gathering Jack Colback's follow-up.
Newcastle began to play with a confidence that belied their lowly league placing, but Arsenal continued to look dangerous and the visitors needed a timely block from Fabricio Coloccini to stop Giroud's shot following Oxlade-Chamberlain's clever pass.
Newcastle's threat remained - Cech saving comfortably from Aleksandar Mitrovic's overhead kick before the goalkeeper had to rush from his line to deny Wijnaldum with half-time approaching.
Three minutes after the restart, Wijnaldum had a glorious chance to break the deadlock when played through with just Cech to beat, but once again the former Chelsea star came out on top, producing a fine save with his legs.
Newcastle went close again a minute later when Moussa Sissoko's cross was cushioned across goal by Ayoze Perez, where Mitrovic could only divert the ball over off his knee.
Chancel Mbemba headed wide midway through the half and Newcastle were made to pay for their profligacy 18 minutes from time as Koscielny got free at the back post to turn the ball home.
A Mitrovic header flew over as Newcastle went in search of an equalizer before Rob Elliot kept out Aaron Ramsey – who shot wide soon after – as Arsenal earned themselves some breathing space at the top of the table.
Arsenal moved two points clear of Leicester at the top of the Premier League table with a win over Newcastle.
The unconvincing Gunners looked set for a point on a soggy Emirates Stadium pitch until defender Laurent Koscielny came to the rescue with a close-range poked winner in the 72nd minute.
The Magpies should have come away with at least a point, having been on the front foot for much of the second half.
Georginio Wijnaldum went closest but his shot was saved by Petr Cech.
One-nil to the Arsenal... just
It was not pretty, nor was it particularly effective but it was a win that kept the belief going among Arsenal fans that this might be their season.
The Gunners did not deserve the three points, and few would have begrudged the Magpies victory, but the goal encapsulated why Arsenal are top and why the visitors are struggling.
Newcastle striker Ayoze Perez covered a lot of ground, helping out his team-mates in midfield to quell the danger posed by the likes of Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
However, the young Spaniard switched off in the 72nd minute, allowing Koscielny to stick out a foot and convert an Olivier Giroud header.
The stats don't lie
Few would have expected this possession stat: Arsenal 51% - Newcastle 49%.
The Magpies midfield dominated their counterparts for periods of the match. The wingers did not look up for the battle, with Oxlade-Chamberlain only winning 33.3% of his duels, while Theo Walcott won 36.4% of his - the two lowest figures in the Arsenal side.
Newcastle can take heart from their display. Jack Colback and Wijnaldum were particularly outstanding in the middle of the park, winning more than 70% of their battles.
Newcastle need to hit the January sales
Defence? Fine. Midfield? Excellent. Strikers? Hmm...
The Magpies looked a threat in attack in their past three outings, but Steve McClaren's forwards have been misfiring terribly. From their 32 efforts on goal, they have only managed to find the target once. Newcastle have only scored 19 times this season - the third-lowest total in the league.
Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who cost £13m in the summer, was supposed to arrest the problem of last season, but has yet to settle. Perez has been in and out of the side, while Papiss Cisse is inconsistent and often injured - as was the case on Saturday.
Does Magpies' owner Mike Ashley, who spent north of £60m in the summer, have any money left in the kitty?
Man of the match - Daryl Janmaat (Newcastle)
What the managers said
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: "We were not at our best but we had to dig deep and we can do that when needed.
"If you are down there then those are the matches you lose but they will not stay down there - they are a good team.
"It was about solidarity, tired legs and taking a chance from a set piece. We were not at our best today, but over Christmas in four games we took nine points so we can look back and say we did 75% of our job as we lost at Southampton."
Asked if his side would be signing anyone in the transfer window, Wenger replied: "Imminent, no, but we will look."
Newcastle manager Steve McClaren: "The players can't believe it, we controlled and dominated the game after the first 10 minutes.
"We asked for a performance and the players gave it, but we conceded one soft goal and lost the game. You can't fault the performance, we just have to be more ruthless at both ends.
"We caused them so many problems and controlled them at the back and we're bewildered how we have not got anything."
The stats you need to know
- Arsenal have won nine successive Premier League games against Newcastle
- The Magpies have scored just six goals in their last 16 Premier League away trips
- Koscielny has scored three goals against Newcastle, more than he has any other Premier League opponent
- Wenger has won 11 of his 12 Premier League meetings with Steve McClaren, losing the other
- The Gunners are unbeaten in nine Premier League home games, winning seven and drawing two
What's next?
Arsenal host Sunderland at home in the FA Cup next week before a trip to Liverpool. The Magpies are at Watford in the cup next Saturday and then return to league action at home to Manchester United.
LINEUP, BOOKINGS (4) & SUBSTITUTIONS (5)
Arsenal
- 33 Cech
- 24 Bellerín
- 04 Mertesacker
- 06 Koscielny
- 18 Monreal
- 20 Flamini Booked
- 16 Ramsey
- 15 Oxlade-Chamberlain (Campbell - 68' )
- 11 Özil Booked
- 14 Walcott (Gibbs - 81' )
- 12 Giroud (Chambers - 89' )
Substitutes
- 03 Gibbs
- 05 Gabriel
- 13 Ospina
- 21 Chambers
- 28 Campbell
- 45 Iwobi
- 54 Reine Adelaide
Newcastle United
- 21 Elliot
- 22 Janmaat Booked
- 18 Mbemba
- 02 Coloccini
- 03 Dummett
- 07 Sissoko
- 24 Tioté (de Jong - 87' )
- 04 Colback Booked (Thauvin - 79' )
- 05 Wijnaldum
- 17 Pérez
- 45 Mitrovic
Substitutes
- 10 de Jong
- 11 Gouffran
- 15 Lascelles
- 20 Thauvin
- 26 Darlow
- 36 Toney
- 43 Mbabu
Ref: Anthony Taylor
Att: 59,257
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