Arsenal progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup as Oliver Giroud’s late goal saw off a spirited Preston at Deepdale. The Gunners had fallen behind to their Championship opponents when Callum Robinson took advantage of poor defending to finish from close range. Robinson then had a goal disallowed before Aaron Ramsey equalised early in the second half with a powerful drive. Giroud then sealed victory with his fourth goal in as many games. Wenger has now overseen 21 wins in the 21 FA Cup third-round games he has been in charge of at Arsenal, but it was far from a comfortable win after a disappointing first-half display in which Preston were unfortunate not to lead by more than one goal. Just four days ago, Arsene Wenger’s side produced a shambolic opening 45 minutes at Bournemouth that left them trailing 2-0 at half-time.

They managed to turn things around in the second half to rescue a 3-3 draw, but for Arsenal fans there will have been a worrying sense of deja vu during the early stages of the first half on Saturday. Preston, 11th in the Championship, have scored in every game they have played since 19 November and immediately had the Gunners defence on the back foot. Aiden McGeady’s creativity proved particularly troublesome for the visitors and the former Everton man played a pivotal role in Preston’s opener. He beat Ramsey with a clever spin before his pass between Nacho Monreal and Gabriel ricocheted into Robinson’s path and the forward fired home. The rest of the key chances in the first half fell Preston’s way, as David Ospina saved well from Ben Pearson before Robinson had a goal disallowed. But to Arsenal’s credit, they improved after the break. Ramsey’s strike came out of nothing as he drove in from the edge of the area and they were more successful at containing Preston’s attacks.

It looked like the tie was heading for a replay at Emirates Stadium but Giroud, who scored a 90th-minute equaliser against Bournemouth, left it late again and his deflected finish from Lucas Perez’s clever backheel in the final minute ended Preston’s resistance. Giroud’s long-term future at Arsenal had seemed uncertain as he started the campaign on the bench and had to wait until November to make his first start. However, the France striker has enjoyed a fine run of form since 26 December. He has scored four goals, including the winner against West Brom, the ‘scorpion’ goal against Crystal Palace and the dramatic Bournemouth equaliser. Against Preston he was made Arsenal captain for the first time – perhaps as reward for his recent resurgence – and the 30-year-old could prove crucial in their bid to end the season with silverware. Arsenal have progressed past the third round of the FA Cup in each of the past 21 seasons, the longest current run in the competition. Indeed, Arsene Wenger has never lost at this stage, with Arsenal last being eliminated by Sheffield United in 1996.

Olivier Giroud has scored in each of his past eight starts for Arsenal in all competitions, netting 10 goals in total. Despite having the same number of attempts as Arsenal in the first half (eight), Preston failed to muster a single shot after half-time. Arsenal have lost just one of their past 37 FA Cup ties against lower league opposition (0-1 v Blackburn in February 2013). Four of Aaron Ramsey’s five FA Cup goals have come in a third-round tie, with the other coming in the 2014 final. Preston have lost 15 of their past 16 FA Cup games against top-flight sides, with a solitary win coming at Derby in January 2008 (4-1).

Arsenal completed a dramatic comeback at Bournemouth as they rescued a point in injury time having fallen 3-0 behind. The Gunners looked destined for a third away league defeat in a row before a late rally that began with a diving Alexis Sanchez header and gathered momentum when a stunning Lucas Perez left-footed volley reduced the gap to a single goal. Bournemouth went down to 10 men when Simon Francis was sent off for a challenge on Aaron Ramsey and Arsenal capitalised as Olivier Giroud headed a 92nd-minute equaliser. The home side had overwhelmed the Gunners early on and taken the lead when Charlie Daniels cut inside Hector Bellerin and stroked a shot past on-rushing keeper Petr Cech.

Callum Wilson scored a penalty to extend Bournemouth’s lead and Ryan Fraser sent a shot through Cech’s legs for the Cherries’ third before the hour mark. But the hosts buckled under Arsenal’s late pressure as Arsene Wenger’s side moved eight points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea, who play Tottenham on Wednesday. Arsenal had produced a feeble display for 70 minutes and were second best in the face of Bournemouth’s energy and desire but that all changed when Sanchez headed in at the far post following Giroud’s flick-on. The momentum of the match changed and five minutes later Giroud clipped a lovely ball to substitute Perez and he sent an angled volley inside the far post. Francis’ sending-off helped Arsenal, although Cherries boss Eddie Howe felt it was a “harsh” decision by referee Michael Oliver. Giroud headed in from a Granit Xhaka cross as Bournemouth failed in their desperate attempts to hang on during six minutes of added time.

Arsenal have been accused of lacking the character to maintain a title challenge in recent seasons and they did little to change that perception before Sanchez’s goal. They were continually second best to the home side and frustrations rose to the surface in the first half. Sanchez and Ramsey exchanged angry words at 2-0 down, while Giroud showed his annoyance when Shkodran Mustafi failed to find him with a pass that went harmlessly out of play. That they regrouped in such thrilling manner was doubtless a relief but not one that entirely satisfied goalscorer Giroud. Even with the Arsenal comeback under way, Howe’s men had a chance to go 4-2 up when Dan Gosling turned superbly in the visitors’ area only to shoot well wide of Cech’s goal. A point keeps the Cherries ninth in the table.

Arsenal came back to draw a Premier League game from three goals down for the first time. Only Hull (nine) have conceded more Premier League penalties than Arsenal this season (six, level with Southampton). Charlie Daniels has provided more assists than any other Premier League defender since the start of last season (eight). Sanchez’s goal was Arsenal’s first shot on target in the match, in the 70th minute. Sanchez has now matched his Premier League goal tally from last season (13 in 20 games this season, compared with 13 in 30 games last season).

Olivier Giroud’s incredible scorpion kick set Arsenal on the way to a victory over Crystal Palace which moved them up to third in the Premier League. With a cross from Alexis Sanchez delivered behind him, Frenchman Giroud elastically reached the ball with his left foot, looping it over his head and in off the underside of the bar. An Alex Iwobi header gave Arsenal a scrappy second before Palace briefly rallied to force saves from home goalkeeper Petr Cech. The win moves the Gunners back to within nine points of leaders Chelsea, while Palace stay 17th, two points above the relegation zone. The visitors have won only once in 13 league games, with manager Sam Allardyce awaiting his first victory since taking over from Alan Pardew.

Giroud marked his return to the Arsenal starting line-up on Boxing Day by scoring the only goal in the win over West Bromwich Albion, and followed up here by pulling off one of the most memorable moments of this or any other season. Indeed, it was made all the more remarkable for its echoes of a similarly breathtaking goal scored by Manchester United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the defeat of Sunderland on Monday. If anything, Giroud’s was even more impressive, an acrobatic finish to a head-high cross delivered from the left by Sanchez at the end of a pacy Arsenal counter-attack. As the ball arrived, a sprinting Giroud turned to stick out his left foot, flicked the ball over his head and saw it arc over the leap of Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, off the woodwork and into the net.

Arsenal lost ground in the title race with defeats by Everton and Manchester City, and began this game in fifth place following Tottenham’s win at Watford. Giroud’s goal was the highlight of an otherwise lacklustre first half in which the only other moment of note was the Frenchman missing his kick attempting to meet a cross inside the six-yard box. Still, the Gunners’ threat was always apparent, particularly in the shape of the forward running of full-backs Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal, who tormented the Palace defence throughout. Monreal was involved in the second goal, providing a cross that was not dealt with, Iwobi heading in despite the efforts of Palace defender Joel Ward on the line. Olivier Giroud has scored eight goals in his past six starts for Arsenal in all competitions.

Sam Allardyce has never won at Arsenal as a manager in all competitions, drawing four and losing 12 of his 16 visits. Since joining the club, Alexis Sanchez has had a hand in 88 goals for Arsenal in all competitions (56 goals, 32 assists) – 26 more than any other Gunner. Arsenal have won 130 of their 200 Premier League games at the Emirates under Arsene Wenger (65%) – they won 72% of their league games at Highbury under the Frenchman (134/186). The Gunners have kept consecutive Premier League clean sheets at home for the first time this season, last doing so in their final three games of 2015-16.