Three more hard-won points for Arsenal on a frigid evening on the south coast, which stretched their lead at the top - temporarily at least - to 7 points (Spoiler Alert; thanks Chelsea - it’s still 6). But the scoreline once again doesn’t tell the full story, with lots of little sub-plots to consider. Of course, it’ll be going through all of our minds that Arsenal hold an unwanted record; on the last 5 occasions that they have led the league at the turn of the year, they have failed to hold on to it until the end.
Arteta chose this game to rest both of his wingers. But he was at least able to welcome back Declan Rice to the side after his enforced midweek rest. Calafiori and Mosquera remain out, and there was no room on the bench for either Nwaneri (for a second successive match) or Havertz ('load being managed').
This has often, of course, been a tricky fixture for The Gunners; and we can hardly forget the daft ( re-refereed by VAR) sending off of William Saliba at this ground last season. So I’m sure that we were under no illusions that nothing could be taken for granted. For all their lack of recent points, Bournemouth are decent; there are very few 'easy' games in the Premier League these days.
As for myself, I remained blissfully oblivious of the live action due to dinner/theatre arrangements made many weeks ago. And you’ll be thrilled to know that I did survive with my phone off until I got home to watch ‘as live’ at 11pm.
Early on, the home side made a lot of the running. But Arsenal were just starting to get a foothold when The King of Brazil made a calamitous error, a ball played across the penalty area (weren't we always told never to do that?) presenting Evanilson with an opportunity that he could not possibly miss. All I could say was: “Aaaaaargh!!!”
Fortunately, it was very early in the game, so Arsenal had no need to panic. And they were soon back in terms, as following a dead ball situation (inevitably, some may say), and some excellent work from Madueke, Gabriel redeemed himself with an emphatic finish.
However, it was by no means one way traffic, with Bournemouth giving as good as they got as Arsenal gave possession away far too frequently. Rice was his normal effective self, but Zubimendi’s first half was - to say the least - ineffective, as he was often bypassed on the break. Further forward, Madueke was giving his full back a torrid time, but Arsenal mostly failed to work the goalkeeper. Whilst Noni took his chance to shine on the right, Martinelli failed to do so on the other side of the pitch.
1-1 at half-time. And Arsenal are normally very effective immediately after the turnaround after Arteta makes his half-time tweaks. Yet again, they made it pay; taking the game to the home side and giving the match an entirely different look and feel. Rice scored his first from an exquisite Odegaard assist - it didn’t look too special, but the set-up was perfect. However, we need to credit Gyokeres for the work he did then - and does almost invisibly - in occupying the centre backs and pushing them back. Whilst he isn’t scoring, his other work is invaluable to the team as he makes others’ lives easier by dint of his hard work. I remain confident that the goals will come. It took Robert Pires an entire season to settle, after all.
On 66 minutes, Arteta summoned the cavalry in order to put the game to bed. On came Saka, Trossard and Jesus. And within moments Saka had set up Rice for his second with a run to the bye-line (found by the excellent Odegaard) and clever cutback.
With Arsenal on top, that really ought to have been it. But there was a notable twist in the tail as a result of the personnel changes. Because whilst the new players gave an extra attacking impetus, the change from Gyokeres to Jesus meant a massive drop in Arsenal’s ability to pressure their opponents from the front. Jesus has many qualities, but he cannot replicate the physicality of Gyokeres. Thus Bournemouth could build from further up the field, and Arsenal dropped back -something that has cost them over the past few weeks. So when Bournemouth substitute Kroupi pulled a goal back with a rasping effort from outside the penalty area with fully 15 minutes to go, there was nobody near him to close him down.
Thankfully, Arsenal saw the rest of the game out comfortably. They continue to pick up maximum points from matches that they failed to do last season, and are setting a furious pace at the top of the table. 15 wins out of their first 20 matches, and well ahead of last season on comparative matches. They need to keep going, of course, but this squad is so much bigger that last season’s - remember how far down to the bare bones they were towards the end of last season?
And so, with the lead now up to 6, it’s Arsenal’s to lose. It’s Salah-less Liverpool next, and a chance for revenge for that earlier defeat at Anfield. They must continue to keep their pedal to the metal before the chance to rotate on Sunday in the FA Cup. And some people need to 'Stay humble; eh?'
COYG!!!
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