Arsenal hold on to beat Bournemouth thanks to heroic turn from David Luiz
Arsenal being Arsenal we should have all probably seen this coming. After Thursday’s thrashing of Standard Liège came Sunday’s edgy win over Bournemouth. Most of the first-team players returned and the home side reverted somewhat to type – getting the job done but in a manner that filled the stadium with anxiety and continues to cloud Unai Emery’s managerial credibility with uncertainty.
Arsenal were holding on by the end, pushed back and largely overwhelmed by opponents who smelt blood. There were mutterings in the stands and a sense Bournemouth could, and would, snatch an equaliser that on balance they probably deserved. Joshua King and Callum Wilson both attempted to do so in stoppage time but neither could and Arsenal ultimately claimed a victory that moves them into third place. Somewhat remarkably, they are now only a point behind Manchester City following their shock defeat to Wolves.
The goal arrived after only nine minutes and from an unlikely source. David Luiz struck for the first time in Arsenal colours with a glancing header following Nicolas Pépé’s corner from the right and, at that stage, it appeared they were set to secure another big win three days after their 4-0 triumph over Liège in the Europa League.
They were moving the ball slickly and pushing Bournemouth back with aggressive pressing, led from the front by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. But as has often been the case under Emery, Arsenal lost their verve and lost their way. Caution and indecision took over long before half-time and come the second half, the game changed completely.
“The conversation at half-time was that we needed to show more of ourselves and to have more belief in our abilities,” said Eddie Howe, and his team undeniably responded to those instructions. Bournemouth were far more aggressive and purposeful after the interval and twice in the space of two minutes Callum Wilson came close to equalising. The first resulted from an exchange of passes with Dominic Solanke and a jinking run into the area that ended with a miscued attempt by the striker. Then, on 53 minutes, the 27year-old was just unable to reach the ball after David Luiz missed completely in his attempt to clear a cross from the left.
A tactical shift was also behind Bournemouth’s resurgence. Their wingers, Harry Wilson and King, were now playing more centrally, with the fullbacks, Jack Stacey and Diego Rico, providing width with deeper runs into Arsenal’s half. Philip Billing had also become a more influential, driving presence in midfield and the home side simply could not cope. Their play became disjointed and their threat all but disappeared. The men in red and white did not muster a single shot on target in the second half.
Emery said his players suffered a drop-off in this game, going as far as to accuse them of “strolling” during the second half. But overall he was pleased with their efforts and the outcome. “We were speaking [before this game] that if we win we will be third in the table – that was the objective and it is important for our confidence,” he said. “Maybe in the second half we felt that pressure [of climbing to third] but for me it is one step more and in 90 minutes we deserved to win.”
That is debatable but for Arsenal there were some positives to take beyond the result. A first home clean sheet in the league this season, as well as further encouraging performances from Calum Chambers and Mattéo Guendouzi, with the latter making the clearance that snuffed out King’s stoppage-time effort.
Beyond that – not much. Arsenal’s midfield continues to look dysfunctional while in attack Pépé was again ineffective. It came as no surprise to see the Ivory Coast international replaced on 63 minutes by Gabriel Martinelli, the 18-year-old Brazilian who scored twice in the win against Liège. Emery made 10 changes from Thursday’s team (with Mesut Özil again absent from the match-day squad) and one has to wonder if he would have been better off sticking with that lineup.
Bournemouth suffered a first defeat in four league games and an understandable level of frustration from Howe, especially with regard to David Luiz’s goal. The defender was allowed to run free inside the visitors’ area
and, it can be argued, Aaron Ramsdale should have kept the ball out given it bounced before drifting past his reach.
“You cannot give a player of that quality that amount of space. We are disappointed,” said Howe. “But credit to the players for sticking with it and in the second half we showed we can be very good. If we had been able to match the two halves I think we would have won.”