Arsenal turned back the clock to cruise past relegation battlers Reading 2-0 at The Emirates and keep alive their hopes of finishing second.

The Gunners' dreams of the title and European glory have evaporated in recent weeks, but they dominated from kick-off on Saturday.

Emmanuel Adebayor cooly put the hosts ahead on the half hour, before Gilberto doubled the lead following a deflection off Reading defender Andre Bikey.

It should have been more in the second half as rampant Arsenal twice hit the woodwork through a superb free-kick from Robin van Persie and the excellent Theo Walcott, while Cesc Fabregas had an effort cleared off the line.

With the gap on Chelsea back down to four points with three games to play, there will be renewed hope the Gunners can yet salvage something from the season.