Tough battle that Arsenal absolutely wanted to win

Arsenal returned from their two-week international break looking to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 17 games, but faced a tricky game against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

Even though , Unai Emery  stated his desire to lead Arsenal back into the Champions League, Victory over Bournemouth puts Arsenal just one point behind Chelsea in fourth and extends their unbeaten run to 17 games. Little wonder manager and players looked pleased with their afternoon’s work at the final whistle.

The travelling supporters located in the far corner of the East Stand were also in jubilant mood, yet it would be wise for all involved to not get too carried away.

After all, these remain early days and much more will be known about Arsenal’s ability to not only get into the Champions League places but stay there after their next two games – Sunday’s visit of Tottenham followed by the midweek trip to Manchester United. Overall, however, this was an encouraging occasion for Emery’s men. They displayed character and determination against spirited and talented opponents and, while not at their fluent best, showed enough in attack to justify a first win in four games.

Not that Eddie Howe saw it that way after watching his side slip to their third successive defeat and eighth spot in the table. Bournemouth’s manager was “disappointed with the result” and felt his team could have earned at least a draw had certain decisions gone their way, most notably David Brooks’ goal on eight minutes that was ruled out for offside following a neat one-two with Joshua King. It was a tight call by the assistant referee on the near side but, as replays showed, appeared to be the right one.

Howe was also left to rue his side’s lack of luck, no more so than in regards to Arsenal’s opener on 30 minutes, resulting as it did from one of the most jaw-dropping own goals those watching, here as well as on television, are likely to have ever seen

Bournemouth appeared to be facing only minimal danger when Sead Kolasinac collected Alex Iwobi’s through pass and delivered a cross from the left side of the hosts’ area. But then arrived the outstretched leg of Jefferson Lerma after he had charged back to help his defenders. It was a valiant attempt but led to the Colombian midfielder firing a first-time, and completely unstoppable, volley past Asmir Begovic.

“Bizarre” is how Howe described the own goal and it is credit to Lerma, on what was his 11th appearance for Bournemouth since arriving from Levante for £25m in August, that he did not let it wreck his day. Indeed, it was the 24-year who came closest to salvaging a point for Bournemouth with a powerfully hit long-range drive on 84 minutes that clipped the far post.

It was during the closing moments that Arsenal had to dig deepest against a side who simply refused to lay down and die. Junior Stanislas twice went close to adding to King’s goal a minute into first-half stoppage time and ultimately there was an element of relief to the visitors’ celebrations. Yet, as Emery said, this was a game in which his players showed calm and generally controlled proceedings. The visitors enjoyed the majority of possession (58.8%) and territory (53.2%), and produced more shots on goal than Bournemouth – 15 compared to seven.

What made Arsenal’s display particularly noteworthy was that it was carried out in a 3-4-2-1 formation. Emery had only used the system once previously, during last month’s 3-0 Europa League victory over Qarabag, and there were spells here when his players’ lack of familiarity with it showed.Image result for arsenal vs bournemouth formation

The three centre-backs –Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Rob Holding – occasionally appeared unsure of where they should be, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan, deployed as one of two inside forwards behind lone striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, generally struggled to make an impact, making Emery’s decision to keep Mesut Özil on the bench for the entirety of the contest especially puzzling.

However, those in mint green slowly but surely adapted to how their manager want them to function, with no one impressing more than Lucas Torreira. The Uruguayan was yet again outstanding in central midfield, regularly breaking up Bournemouth’s momentum with perfectly timed interceptions, while in possession he showed consistent assurance and purpose up until his substitution on 79 minutes, having complained to Emery of tiredness.

With Alexandre Lacazette ruled out due to a groin injury, Aubameyang was given the chance to play as a central attacker, rather than in his usual left-wing role, and he also impressed. The 29-year-old was constantly looking to unsettle Bournemouth’s defence and eventually pierced them on 67 minutes with a simple sliding finish – the result of clever movement between the hosts’ centre-backs, Steve Cook and Nathan Aké.

The goal, Aubameyang’s 10th of the season in all competitions, resulted from more good link-up play between Iwobi and Kolasinac and, as Emery was keen to stress, their left-sided partnership was definitely a positive aspect of Arsenal’s performance here. Indeed, perhaps the only real negative for the visitors was that they yet again failed to establish a half-time lead.

They were only seconds away from doing so but then Iwobi lost possession in Bournemouth’s area following an Arsenal corner and Ryan Fraser led a sweeping counterattack that resulted in King firing a well-hit curling drive into the top corner of Bernd Leno’s net.

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