Roberto Martinez's men scored two own goals as Everton fell to a 2-0 defeat at Southampton on Saturday, meaning victory for Arsenal over beleaguered Newcastle sees the north London club pull four points clear in the chase for a UEFA Champions League berth with two games remaining.
The result never looked in doubt after Laurent Koscielny's simple finish sent the hosts into a 26th-minute lead at the Emirates Stadium, with Mesut Ozil doubling the advantage before the break.
A sixth consecutive defeat for Newcastle will undoubtedly heap pressure on manager Alan Pardew, who has now overseen the club's longest losing league run since 1987.
Pardew was back in the dugout following his seven-match ban for headbutting Hull City's David Meyler, with opposite number Arsene Wenger offering a warm welcome to the manager with whom he had his own heated confrontation at West Ham in 2006.
And defender Koscielny was in the mix in the Newcastle penalty area again eight minutes later as he broke the deadlock, this time making the most of Moussa Sissoko's lacklustre marking to poke home from a Mikel Arteta free-kick.
Cheick Tiote evoked memories of his stunning equaliser in Newcastle's famous 2011 4-4 draw with Arsenal when he stung the palms of Wojciech Szczesny with a thunderbolt of an effort from 30 yards, but the home side doubled their advantage three minutes before the break.
And it was all over for Newcastle in the 66th minute, when Giroud nodded home from an Ozil cross, prompting fans in the away end at the Emirates to unfurl a banner asking: "Next excuse Pardew?"
It remains to be seen if under-fire Pardew has an answer for his own club's supporters, but few question marks now exist over whether Arsenal have what it takes to win the race for fourth.
