Arsenal keep the pressure on Man City with hard-fought win over Bournemouth
Arsenal moved four points clear at the top of the Premier League with a hard-fought 3-0 win over Bournemouth thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice.
As you would expect from a side that is chasing the title and had won its last three matches, Arsenal started like a house on fire, tearing into opponents who themselves had been in good form.
Only several last ditch interventions prevented the Gunners from taking an early lead with Leandro Trossard denied on two occasion by brave Bournemouth blocks.
Goalkeeper Mark Travers then came to the visitor’s rescue with smart stops from Bukayo Saka and William Saliba, but he should’ve been given no shortly before the half hour mark when Thomas Partey blazed over from near the penalty spot after Takehiro Tomiyasu had nodded the ball into his path.
At the other end, Bournemouth’s attacking threat was almost non-existent but almost manufactured a chance against the run of play when Dominik Solanke pickpocketed Gabriel, only for the Brazilian to be rescued by his teammate Saliba.
Arsenal continued to press for the opener but wayward finishing was again their undoing with Rice spurning a glorious opening, slicing a shot wide after Kai Havertz’s neat header appeared to have created a simple chance.
The breakthrough, when it came, arrived on the stroke of half-time when Kai Havertz fell under minimal contact from Travers and Saka tucked away the resulting penalty with typical composure.
Arsenal missed a glorious chance to double their advantage almost immediately after the restart when Saka’s shot lacked conviction after he was presented a with a clear sight of goal by Havertz.
Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers denied Arsenal on multiple occasions (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal eventually took the lead from the penalty spot shortly before half time (Picture: Getty)
Having denied Saka, Travers was again in action moments later, palming away a Havertz daisy cutter after the Arsenal striker had turned smartly away from his marker.
While the lead stood at just a single goal the game remained in the balance and Arsenal were indebted to David Raya, a virtual spectator for the opening 50 minutes, when he made a smart stop at his near post to deny Solanke.
With just under 20 minutes remaining, it looked as though a nervy finish was in the offing with Bournemouth starting to turn the screw.
Leandro Trossard’s 16th goal of the season calmed the tension inside the Emirates Stadium (Picture: Getty)
Bournemouth were furious when Antoine Semenyo’s goal was disallowed in the second half (Picture: Getty)
The tension was lifted by Leandro Trossard who stroked home from the edge of the penalty area after Declan Rice had fought hard to win the ball back.
Arsenal were fortunate to escape just moments later when Raya flapped at a high ball under pressure from Solanke.
Antoine Semenyo turned in the loose ball after Ryan Christie had hit the crossbar with a deflected shot but fortunately for Arsenal VAR upheld David Coote’s original decision.
Arsenal thought they had put the gloss on the scoreline when Gabriel thumped home an unstoppable shot only to see the linesman’s flag deny the Brazilian a sensational goal.
The cherry on top of the cake eventually came in the last minute of injury time when Rice capped a man of the match performance by rounding off fine team move.
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