Goalkeeper Volkan Demirel also made a penalty save as Turkey moved to nine points, six behind Group A leaders Germany and one point behind second-placed Belgium.
Arda gave Guus Hiddink's side the lead after 28 minutes when he positioned himself smartly to receive a throw-in, beat two defenders then slotted the ball into the far corner.
Gokhan made it 2-0 after 78 minutes before Austria wasted the chance to set up a nervy finale when Stefan Maierhofer's 84th minute penalty was saved after it had been awarded for a foul by Hakan Balta on Erwin Hoffer.
Turkey desperately needed a win after losing their last two qualifying matches last October including a humiliating defeat to Azerbaijan, prompting questions over Hiddink's selections.
The veteran coach has since brought skilled newcomers into the team such as German-born Mehmet Ekici and Serdar Kesimal, and has said he is still scouting for new talent.
"We said before the game we needed a win and so there was a lot of pressure on us... It was important today to get back in the driving seat but we are now in the driving seat and hold our own fate in our hands," Dutchman Hiddink said.
"I am happy with the win but I am also critical about some aspects of our performance. We played well in the first half and I was waiting for the second goal but then in the second half we dropped too much back into the midfield." Austria are now in fourth place in the group on seven points having lost to Belgium last Saturday.
"The group was always going to be tough. We are not as big a nation as Germany or Turkey, but we are always still good for a surprise," said coach Dietmar Constantini.
Intercity’s manger, Vural Ak, who is on the Beşiktaş sports club’s presidency candidate Serdal Adalı’s managerial list, announced the club’s financials. Ak, who manages Istanbul Racetrack said, “We will invest 45 million dollars and enter the 2014 Formula calendar.”
Fenerbahçe lifted up their second Turkey Cup trophy in a row last night beating out Trabzonspor by 1-0 in the Ziraat Turkey Cup final held in Ankara.
Sports Minister Kılıç brought two star players from arch-rival teams together to discuss the recent surfacing of racial gestures by fans in the Fenerbahçe-Galatasaray derby, the foreign player quota and Turkey’s 2020 Olympic bid.
English former captain, and footballing legend David Beckham takes his last bow on the footballing stage.
Yesterday the "Derby of Two Continents" was played in Istanbul.
Galatasaray clinched their 19th Turkish league title with a 4-2 win over Sivasspor on Sunday, crowning a successful season in which they reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and claimed the Super League title two weeks early.
In an exciting, tight and highly energized game, hosts Benfica managed to outscore Fenerbahçe by 3-1 last night and will now be moving on to face Chelsea in the UEFA Europa League final in Amsterdam on May 15.
Tokyo's outspoken governor, Naoki Inose, who heads the city's bid for the 2020 Olympics, apologized on Tuesday for "inappropriate" comments he made about rival candidate Istanbul and Islamic countries. Admitting that he used expressions that may have been misunderstood, Inose said he would never criticize other candidate cities again.
Egemen Korkmaz's second-half header earned Fenerbahçe a 1-0 win in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Benfica and eased the tears of team mate Cristian on Thursday.