Arsenal ... 2  Blackburn Rovers ... 0:Arsenal's dogged pursuit of the Premier League title has taken on the appearance of a breeze.

This may have been an uncomfortable victory, squeezed from Blackburn Rovers with the home supporters whipped up into a frenzy of frustration as chance after chance was squandered, but the reality of this team's vantage point today will render the angst suffered by their followers last night forgotten. Arsene Wenger's side are five points clear at the top.

Manchester United will not be quivering uncontrollably just yet at the thought of having to overhaul that deficit but, while their closest rivals are suffering the jitters, Arsenal can rest considerably easier.

Rovers ended up testing them here even if their nervous opening, which yielded Phillipe Senderos's decisive goal, had suggested a rout.

Victory, however slender courtesy of Brad Friedel's excellence, was a feat of sorts for a team denied 10 first-teamers through injury or international commitments. This squad will be strengthened in the weeks ahead.

Rovers had conceded six on their previous league visit to this arena despite contributing hugely to what had been a breathtaking occasion. Yet, perhaps scarred by that memory, the visitors' rearguard had rather quaked from the outset here.

Blackburn pride themselves on an abrasive approach but, where they required resilience, there was panic and confusion in the opening exchanges and a goal shipped early to prolong the jitters.

They could be grateful for the home side's profligacy that the deficit did not already appear irretrievable by the interval. Arsenal may have been efficient rather than scintillating in recent weeks, but a more robust approach had still yielded flurries of goals against all comers.

Rovers had required early strength to frustrate the home side's initial forays. Instead, and much to Mark Hughes' clear disgust, they surrendered the initiative from the first meaningful set play.

A poor pass and Tugay Kerimoglu's inability to control had sent Eduardo da Silva stumbling into the area away from Andre Ooijer four minutes in, Zurab Khizanishvili recovering to scramble the ball away from the Croatian and behind.

Set pieces should be Rovers' forte, but this was a team stripped of Christopher Samba's height and Ryan Nelsen's brawn. Senderos, so often a maligned figure, twice wriggled away from Benni McCarthy at the resulting corner to head his second goal of the season beyond David Bentley on the post, and Arsenal had their lead.

That advantage should have been extended, Bacary Sagna's energy down the right flank as Cesc Fabregas tucked inside and offering width and bite the visitors could not resist. Mathieu Flamini, such a revelation this term, skied one attempt from his compatriot's lay-off over the bar.

When Emmanuel Adebayor's wonderful crossfield pass was nodded on by Eduardo, Flamini bore down on goal only for Brad Friedel to excel by blocking with his legs.

Yet, while Arsenal's lead was still slender, Rovers at least retained hope. The absence of Morten Gamst Pedersen and David Dunn might have shorn them of pace and invention, but Roque Santa Cruz remains an awkward opponent and Bentley is a potent threat from wide. It was the Arsenal youth-team graduate's free-kick that Stephen Reid nodded wide.

Unperturbed, Santa Cruz twice flung himself at centres, delivered cleverly from right and left flank by Brett Emerton and Warnock respectively, with the Paraguayan only marginally failing to hit the target.

The sight of Alexander Hleb hammering a shot which thudded from the foot of the post just after half-time offered a sharp reminder of the home side's threat.

At the other end Friedel denied Adebayor at his near post after the Togolese had seared away from two markersbut Adebayor had the last word, steering the ball past Friedel after being cleverly set up by Hleb.

ARSENAL:Lehmann, Sagna, Gallas, Senderos, Clichy, Fabregas, Flamini, Silva, Hleb, Adebayor, Eduardo. Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Bendtner, Traore, Justin Hoyte, Gilbert. Booked: Fabregas. Goals: Senderos 4, Adebayor 90.

BLACKBURN:Friedel, Emerton, Ooijer (Rigters 80), Khizanishvili, Warnock, Kerimoglu (Mokoena 77), Bentley, Reid, McCarthy (Roberts 77), Berner, Santa Cruz. Subs Not Used: Brown, Kane.

Referee:Steve Bennett (Kent).