Arsenal beats Reading 5-2 in Premier League

(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

READING, England (AP) Santi Cazorla scored a hat trick Monday as Arsenal emphatically bounced back from its recent disappointments with a 5-2 win at last-place Reading in the Premier League.

Coming off an embarrassing loss on penalties at fourth-tier Bradford in the League Cup last week, Arsenal was back to its best for the first hour at the Madejski Stadium, attacking at will and taking a 4-0 lead when Cazorla netted his third in the 60th minute.

Reading somehow made a game of it by scoring two cheap goals in five minutes, but Cazorla settled any nerves by setting Theo Walcott up for the fifth in the 80th.

Lukas Podolski opened the scoring for Arsenal in the 14th, while Adam Le Fondre and Jimmy Kebe netted for Reading.

The win lifts Arsenal back up to fifth place, two points behind Tottenham and Chelsea.

Updated December 17, 2012