Ozil’s opener turns tide as Arsenal have fun at seaside
The restorative sea air worked its magic for Arsene Wenger, curing ailments in front of goal and reviving a faltering title challenge.
Arsenal were far from fluent. But, in a first- ever fixture at Bournemouth, they ended a run of more than five hours without a goal and turned momentum back in the right direction.
Since winning the title in 2004, Arsenal have not led the Premier League in April or May. There have been stylish starts and flamboyant finishes, but a complete campaign has proved elusive.
This year is supposed to represent their best chance of ending the wait. And yet f amiliar concerns had resurfaced ahead of this trip to Dorset, with only three points from the previous four games, and no goals in three.
Victory was vital at Bournemouth with Leicester City due at the emirates on Sunday, and it was secured with two goals, 88 seconds apart, midway through the first half.
Mesut Ozil put them ahead when Olivier Giroud nodded a pass from Aaron Ramsey down into his path. Ozil adjusted quickly and volleyed the bouncing ball past Artur Boruc with his weaker foot.
‘he has become a very i mportant player,’ said Wenger. ‘ he has added a fighting attitude and if he starts to score with his right foot, he will become even stronger.’
having stopped the clock on 328 minutes without a goal, Arsenal immediately scored another, this time converted by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and assisted by a poor clearance from Bournemouth defender Steve Cook.
Ramsey collected the ball from Cook and released Oxlade-Chamberlain, who produced a crisp and accurate finish, driven low across Boruc and into the net off the far post. It was his first goal in the Premier League since September 2014 and the first time he had scored away from home in the Premier League. eddie howe bemoaned a slow start by his side, and a decision by referee Kevin Friend to show Mathieu Flamini a yellow card and not a red one for a twofooted tackle on Dan Gosling when the game was still goalless.
Flamini f l ew i nto the midfield challenge with studs on display. he did get the ball, and Gosling was not hurt, but the Bournemouth players were furious.
Only when they were two goals down did howe’s team begin to stitch their passing patterns together.
Confidence grew steadily but they were rarely able to involve centre-forward Benik Afobe.
There would be no dream goal for in-form Afobe, a £10million signing from Wolves in January, against the club where he started his career in the youth ranks.
Bournemouth are easy on the eye but often their final pass went astray, or the cross would be delivered into the wrong area.
Although they enjoyed plenty of possession in advanced areas, they were kept at arm’s length by the Arsenal back four and only occasionally troubled Petr Cech.
Defeat leaves them five points above the drop zone. They have turned a corner since winning at Chelsea in December and look as if they will have enough to avoid being sucked into a survival scrap.
AFC BOURNEMOUTH (4-1-4-1) Boruc, Smith, Francis, Cook, Daniels, Surman, Ritchie (Stanislas 66), Gosling (King 66), Arter, Pugh, Afobe (Grabban 77). Subs not used: Iturbe, Federici, Distin, O’Kane. Booked: None. ARSENAL: Cech, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal, Flamini, Ramsey, Oxlade- Chamberlain (Coquelin 67), Ozil, Sanchez (Gibbs 82), Giroud (Walcott 90). Subs not used: Mertesacker, Ospina, Campbell, Iwobi. Booked: Flamini. Attendance: 11,357. Referee: Kevin Friend. Man of the match: Laurent Koscielny.