Rangers have endured their fair share of trials and tribulations in Angus in recent times.
Not on Monday night though.
Montrose drew with Ally McCoist’s men last season, Forfar Athletic knocked them out of the League Cup a few months ago, and Brechin City have come the closest of any League One club to taking a point off the runaway leaders.
From the moment Jon Daly gave Rangers a second minute lead there was never any doubt about the result of this match.
The Ibrox side cruised to victory in a match that was every bit as comfortable as the last time they visited here in the Scottish Cup two years ago, with two further first half goals coming from a Bradley Donaldson own goal and a Nicky Clark header.
There was one change to the Arbroath team from their defeat to Stenhousemuir, with David Banjo coming in for Johnny Lindsay. For Rangers David Templeton was replaced by Fraser Aird, and Arnold Peralta by Lewis Macleod.
After all of 100 seconds, Rangers were in front. Lee Wallace charged down the left and was clumsily brought to the ground at the corner of the box by a Banjo body-check.
Ian Black swung the free-kick into the near post where Daly made no mistake with a volley for his 17th goal of the season.
Understandably, this worst possible start didn’t help Arbroath settle into the game and they continued to look jittery at the back.
Wallace was causing a lot of problems with his direct running and when he crossed into the box the home defence made a bit of a hash of clearing the danger and nearly contrived to lay the ball on a plate for Nicky Clark.
A few moments later the Rangers striker hit the byeline and crossed into the six-yard box but keeper Scott Morrison confidently collected.
The first Arbroath shot on goal came on 17 minutes when Bobby Linn got on the end of a long free-kick into the box, but his shot on the turn was comfortably dealt with by Cammy Bell.
Just as Arbroath looked as if they might be getting a foothold in the match they conceded a second. With 26 minutes on the clock a Macleod shot from distance beat Morrison via Donaldson.
On 37 minutes Bilel Mohsni was booked for a foul on Lee Erwin on the Arbroath right. On a night when chances for the home team were extremely rare, the subsequent free-kick blasted over by Alan Cook was a wasted one. Four minutes later the Angus men were given a lesson on how to take full advantage of a set-piece.
Wallace curled the ball to the back post from where Clark headed home for Rangers’ goal number three.
Arbroath managed to make it into the break without conceding another, but the second half was all about damage limitation.
It was Rangers, though, who threatened first after the re-start. Nicky Law drove to the byeline and cut the ball back. Morrison got to it first but could only palm it out, and thankfully for Arbroath it fell to the boot of a team-mate.
Linn had been the Lichties’ liveliest attacker in the first period and so it proved again at the beginning of the second.
The former East Fife man drove down the left and his shot flashed across goal. Two men were booked in quick succession for fouls Black of Rangers then Travis of Arbroath.
The Ibrox club should have scored their fourth when a Black through ball split the home defence. Daly took it in his stride, and curled a shot to Morrison’s left only to see it come back off the post.
Law and Daly both had good opportunities midway through the half, but both shot over from similar positions just inside the box.
Arbroath were next to curse the woodwork on 65 minutes when Chris Scott struck the base of Bell’s left-hand post.
There was a flurry of substitutions, with McCoist sending on Robbie Crawford and Kyle Hutton for Aird and Black, and Arbroath’s Scott and Sheerin making way for Darren Smith and Graham Bayne. Then, on 76 minutes, Steven Milne came on for his last few minutes of professional football, replacing Lee Erwin.
Wallace made one of his trademark bursts into the box late on but dragged his finish past the far post.