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Arsenal survived Aston Villa's second-half fightback to recover from successive defeats with a 4-2 victory in the Premier League on Saturday.
Andrey Arshavin scored one goal and set up Samir Nasri as Arsenal led 2-0 at half time.
But Ciaran Clark volleyed Villa back into the game in the 52nd and then headed in another after Marouane Chamakh scored a third for Arsenal.
Arsenal made sure of the victory in stoppage time when Jack Wilshere scored his first league goal for the north London club.
''We showed we've got good character - I'm happy to get my first goal,'' the 18-year-old Wilshere said. ''We need to improve our home form and we'll see where we are at the end of the season.''
The Gunners had thrown away a 2-0 lead against Tottenham last Saturday before losing 3-2 and were beaten 2-0 at Braga in the Champions League on Tuesday.
''I think there's always going to be that (uncertainty), especially after last week,'' Wilshere said.
It took Arsenal 39 minutes for its flowing football to be rewarded with a goal.
After Lukasz Fabianski launched the ball from the Arsenal goal, Villa defenders Luke Young and James Collins let it go past them on the halfway line as they both tried to intercept it.
The ball landed on the left flank where Arshavin picked up possession and charged forward before cutting into the penalty area past defender Richard Dunne and shooting into the far corner of the net despite Brad Friedel's fingertips touching the ball.
From the restart, Villa gave away the ball and the visitors could have gone further ahead. The ball was slipped through to Nasri, who rounded Friedel but couldn't find the net from a tight angle.
Friedel's right hand then prevented Chamakh making it 2-0 with a header.
But Nasri did find the net in the 45th minute, meeting Arshavin's corner on the edge of the box with a volley that took a slight deflection off Young before landing in the net.
Nasri's sixth goal of the season ensured Arsenal went in at half time with a two-goal cushion for the second successive weekend.
But it looked like Villa would emulate Tottenham last Saturday after pulling one back at the start of the second period.
Sebastien Squillaci failed to clear Barry Bannan's cross adequately, with his header reaching Clark, who brought the ball down with his chest before volleying into the net in the 52nd.
Arsenal's nerves eased four minutes later when Tomas Rosicky threaded the ball into Chamakh's path and the Morocco striker went past Friedel before firing into the net.
But for all their domination, the Gunners' frailties were exposed again in the 71st. Dunne headed a corner onto Clarke, who nodded it into the net via the crossbar with his back to goal.
In a nervy finish, Chamakh turned provider by crossing for Wilshere to dive in with a header past Friedel.
''It was a strong performance against a Villa side that's dangerous,'' Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. ''With 2-0 at half time it happened again, it was quickly back to 2-1, but this time we managed to find the resources to keep scoring goals.
''At the end of the day overall it was a good game and a good performance from us.''
The victory provisionally took Arsenal top of the standings ahead of Manchester United's match against Blackburn later in the day. Chelsa, which started the day on top, is at Newcastle on Sunday.
