Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was relieved to overcome FA Cup opponents Preston 2-1 at Deepdale.

Olivier Giroud continued his recent scoring streak by netting his fourth in four games since returning to the starting line-up, sinking the impressive Championship side with a deflected 89th-minute effort in the third-round tie.

Wenger said: "I think since the start of the season we had many, many, many comebacks and many goals in the final minutes. I would first like to congratulate Preston for the quality of their game, especially in the first half where we were outpaced and they played with desire, enthusiasm and quality and they gave us many problems. Full commitment for 90 minutes - it was a great cup tie and we needed to dig deep to win the game today. Second half it was all us, but they continued to defend well and we needed to be patient and create something special - we did that in the end. But it was a very good cup tie today.

"We are top level Premier League and we were dominated in the first half. Preston had chances you know and I believe we were just not at the pace of the game or the pace that the game demanded. Of course, I didn't want to go home and be out of the FA Cup tonight."