There is something about playing the lunchtime Premier League fixture as it sets the tone for how the rest of the weekend is going to be like, especially for the fans. Add the pressure of being in a title race against the juggernauts known as Manchester City, and you’d know that you have to be near damn perfect in situations like this.
Bournemouth aren’t certainly pushovers and despite their rather uninspiring start to the beginning of the campaign under new gaffer, Andoni Iraola, the Cherries steadied the ship and went on a run of great results that retained their Premier League status for another season. In Dominic Solanke, they found a dependable striker they could count on and the goals have come in reckless abandon for the England man.
Arsenal knew that anything less than a win against Bournemouth was going to be unacceptable, bearing in mind that Manchester City was going to play a Wolves side bereft of confidence at the moment. The first half saw the Gunners have a barrage of chances that they failed to convert and it gave those vibes of what might have been but when Martin Odegaard cushioned a sumptuous ball to Kai Havertz in behind the Bournemouth defense, the Emirates held its collective breath and were expectant. The German forward waltzed past Mark Travers in the six-yard box but tactically left a trailing leg that was impeded by the Bournemouth goalie. VAR took some time to digest on this one, but the execution from Havertz was near perfect, leaving the officials no choice but to give a penalty. Up stepped Bukayo Saka to send the goalie the wrong way for his 20th goal this season.
It was no less than Arsenal’s play deserved and there was a collective relief that the match opener has been scored.
Like we had seen from a host of games this season, Arsenal took their foot off the pedal and Bournemouth had a couple of chances that almost equalized the contest. In contrast to Arsenal’s dominance that saw them have 16 attempts to Bournemouth’kne in the first half, there was a temporary moment when Bournemouth had five attempts to Arsenal’s four early in the second half.
With each Bournemouth attack, you could sense the tension that was very palpable and more than ever, Arsenal needed a second goal to calm all the collective nerves. Up stepped Declan Rice that received the ball in an awkward position and still found a way to thread it to Leandro Trossard for a one-time side-footed finish. That was his 16th goal this season, another player that has been uber consistent in front of goal.
Late on, Rice put the icing on a well baked cake, latching onto Gabriel Jesus’ intelligent pass, drifting past his marker and firing a shot that found its way past Travers to make it three.
There was the added pressure of playing first and there was no room whatsoever for any more dropped points, and the lads responded well with a routine victory over Bournemouth that was effective, efficient and excellent.
Sayonara.
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