Mikel Arteta wanted something less stressful than Arsenal's previous home win. Bournemouth and he fulfilled his wish. In March of last year, his team needed a 97thReiss Nelson goal in the 1st minute to complete a wild 3-2 victory from 2-0 down. Here there was glory in the general feeling of comfort and control, Arsenal moving to 83 points, still posing the question to defending champions Manchester City, who kick off against Wolves at 5:30 p.m.
It wasn't entirely simple; it rarely is. Arsenal The 2-0 was broken when Antoine Semenyo's goal was disallowed on VAR advice for a foul by Dominic Solanke on goalkeeper David Raya.
Solanke seemed to have done considerably less than, say, Ben White with opposing goalkeepers in the corners; The centre-forward stood firm, Raya's weak punch was returned to the crossbar by Ryan Christie before Semenyo poked it home. Bournemouth were stunned.
So a goal could have made it interesting. As it was, Arsenal calmed down and rightly so. A debatable Bukayo Saka penalty had been scant reward for his first-half dominance and, if in-form Bournemouth looked more threatening after the break, they were second best overall.
Arsenal did score again in '97th minute, but this time it was simply Declan Rice's commentary on an excellent individual performance and the score. Leandro Trossard had achieved Arsenal's second and they intend to finish with two more victories – against Manchester United and Everton – to reach 89 points; one less than the Invincibles' tally from 2003-04. Will it be enough to match his title-winning achievement?
Arteta's plan was to watch the City game afterwards and it was fun to imagine him putting on a Wolves shirt, drinking a pint of Banks's and singing for Old Gold. On Friday he had said that in his “heart and soul” he expected City to slip up. His focus of the day, however, was only here, on doing what he and Arsenal needed to do.
Bournemouth presented a challenge, particularly as Semenyo made a Lazarus recovery from the injury he suffered against Brighton last Sunday. They took him away on a stretcher, Andoni Iraola then said that he looked bad. Semenyo was able to take his place on the right wing of the coach's 4-3-3.
It's not just Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp who doesn't like matches at 12:30. It's too soon. However, Arsenal came out on top and did everything right from the start. They were physical, pressing high, not giving Bournemouth time with the ball. And they were skilled when they had it, their movements so sharp. Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers was warned that he was in for a busy game.
Bournemouth's defenders dived into the shots; four times in the first ten minutes and many more after that. The first half hour was like a siege; Travers prominent. His best save during that period was avoiding Takehiro Tomiyasu's header at the far post after a corner kick. There were others, William Saliba's block and dive to his right to keep away a Thomas Partey curler worth mentioning. Arsenal could also point to a wayward shot by Partey when he was well placed
Bournemouth barely got through halfway through the first half, although Arsenal did need Saliba to make an important tackle on Solanke in the 18th minute.th minute after an error by Gabriel Magalhães.
Arsenal's patience and composure were tested, especially after Rice charged wide in the 38th minute following a header from Havertz. Rice had waited too long and allowed the ball to bounce twice. Will it be one of those days?
Arsenal didn't believe it, neither with Martin Ødegaard pulling the strings like a master puppeteer, nor with Saka ignoring the blows, including a tackle by Ryan Christie in the 11th minute.th minute that was somehow deemed unworthy of a card: coming back again and again.
The penalty was soft. Kai Havertz simply bought it, after running onto an Ødegaard pass and seeing Travers commit. Havertz waited for contact, left his back leg to feel it, and when he was there, he was gone. Travers had played with fire with the challenge. Saka's conversion from the spot was preceded by a stutter.
Havertz's first touch was very pleasing to the eye; The same goes for his playing style. He shone with menace, teeing up Saka at the start of the second half; The winger shot weakly at Travers when he had to score.
Arsenal needed a second goal as Bournemouth found a foothold in the second half, Solanke working Raya in from a tight angle after Ødegaard was robbed. Bournemouth perceived opportunities in transitions. The home crowd was worried that the lead was precarious and shouted encouragement.
Trossard would calm them down. His finish was in the sensible category, headed home after Ødegaard's pass was deflected and Rice sculpted the most deft touches for the assist. When VAR denied Bournemouth, Arsenal looked home and fired. Ødegaard came close to making it 3-0, while Gabriel saw a shout disallowed for offside against Havertz in the middle after Ødegaard's cross. The last word would be for Rice.
