A goal from Robin van Persie gave Arsenal the edge at Ewood Park going into the second half against Blackburn.

The Dutchman took advantage of some poor defending to rifle a shot into the corner beyond goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

Rovers made a bright start and David Bentley raced forward in the second minute, only to see his effort dip over the bar.

Emerton broke down the right three minutes later and whipped in a cross that goalkeeper Jens Lehmann did well to push away.

Arsenal took the lead in the 18th minute when van Persie took advantage of some sloppy defending to score.

Goalkeeper Brad Friedel failed to deal with Eduardo's shot after Theo Walcott had headed the ball on.

Ryan Nelsen and David Dunn both had chances to clear but failed to do so and van Persie took advantage.

Blackburn almost drew level in the 34th minute following a free-kick from Bentley.

He picked out Christopher Samba at the back post and the towering defender headed the ball back across the area.

Nelsen was the first to react and powered the ball forward only to see his effort come back off the post.

Then Senderos delivered a goal-bound header a minute before the break only to see Samba make the clearance.