Arsenal secured a victory over Bournemouth in a tough battle of 3-2, allowing them to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table, plus extending their winning streak to five matches in a row in the league.
The Gunners were first to be scared when an ill-advised pass of Gabriel Magalhães was cut off by Evanilson, who scored the simplest of goals to put Bournemouth in front. But they quickly came back, as Gabriel was forgiven, and he scored with a powerful shot from close range after Gabriel Martinelli’s shot was cleared from the line.
Even though Arsenal had equalized, the Cherries were in the ascendancy during the first half, making David Raya work through shots from Justin Kluivert, Marcus Tavernier, and Evanilson, while the Gunners looked rather impotent up front following a tiring Christmas period.
Mikel Arteta’s boys came out for the second half with renewed vigor and took the lead in just 10 minutes after the restart. An attractive combination of passes culminated in the ball being played to Martin Ødegaard, who, in turn, opened the highway for Declan Rice to unleash a very hard and low shot into the corner from just outside the area.
Arteta’s changes proved to be the turning point late in the game, as Bukayo Saka dashed down the right and cut back for Rice to net his second of the evening and Arsenal’s third. Bournemouth were already thinking about a possible twist in the tale when substitute Eli Junior Kroupi had a spectacular goal, but the Gunners were not in the mood to let the pressure get to them.
The victory gives them an early 6-point lead at the top, while the Cherries’ problems continue with their winless streak extended to a dozen matches in the league.
