POACHER EDDIE STEALS SHOW
(Only this time it’s Arsenal striker, not boss Howe)
ONE name echoed around the Vitality Stadium at full-time and for once the Eddie in question was not the manager of Bournemouth.
It was the Arsenal fans offering appreciation for Eddie Nketiah after the young striker scored his first goal since returning from a difficult loan spell at Leeds.
Nketiah’s confident strike midway through the first half proved to be the winner and secured a trip to League One Portsmouth in the FA Cup fifth round.
All of which made for a pleasing night for Mikel Arteta which was only marred by what looked like a serious ankle injury for Shkodran Mustafi, who was carried off in the second half and will have a scan today.
Bukayo Saka opened the scoring in the fifth minute and Bournemouth substitute Sam Surridge pulled one back in stoppage time but it was too late for Eddie Howe’s team.
‘ It gives you a lift because you are one step closer to Wembley, which is a magnificent occasion,’ said Arsenal boss Arteta, an FA Cup winner as Arsenal’s captain and last season as Manchester City’s assistant manager.
‘I had the experience as a player and I want to experience it as a manager. We go step by step and see where we get.’
Arteta has blended youth and experience to good effect in the competition. In the third round against Leeds, 20-year-old Reiss Nelson scored Arsenal’s only goal. Last night, they started with five players under the age of 21.
Again, they responded to the challenge, though they were certainly helped by hosts who interpreted Howe’s decision to make six changes as an indication that he was not entirely bothered about the result. Premier League survival is the priority and the visit of Aston Villa on Saturday loomed large over a squad which has been hit hard by injuries.
Bournemouth were sliced open with less than five minutes on the clock. A 22-touch passing move was finished by Saka overlapping on the left. He accepted a pass from Gabriel Martinelli and slammed a powerful shot past Mark Travers from a tight angle.
Nketiah, given a chance to make his first Arsenal start for more than a year in the absence of topscorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was completing his three-match ban, pounced for the second from Saka’s cross.
There was a delay as the VAR considered whether Martinelli might have been offside before the goal was confirmed.
‘He’s always there in the middle of the goal ready to score,’ said Arteta. ‘And also the way he works without the ball is terrific. These kids showed the courage to play and to make big decisions, to not be scared and play safe. That’s the difference.’
Arsenal were in complete control. Joe Willock forced a save from Travers and Martinelli went close to a third as they continued to dominate possession.
Emiliano Martinez did not have a save to make until seven minutes before the interval when he kept out a volley by Harry Wilson which skidded up off the turf.
Howe made his feelings known at the interval. Bournemouth performed with more purpose and intent in the second half and Arsenal coasted, perhaps thinking the hard part was over. Jack Simpson came close to reducing the deficit with a header which flew narrowly wide after Martinez had flapped at a corner.
Dan Gosling whistled a shot over from long range as the tie fizzled into a scrappy finish with stoppages for injuries and substitutions. Referee Martin Atkinson signalled eight minutes of stoppage time and Arsenal became anxious when substitute Surridge pulled one back four minutes into the added time.
Lewis Cook flashed another effort over from distance but there was to be no equaliser and Bournemouth are released to focus on their fight for survival.
‘We’re here to win and we’re disappointed,’ said Howe when asked if it might be a blessing in disguise. ‘The start was hugely disappointing and maybe the early goal rocked us. We were way below our level.
‘I thought we were the better team in the second half. They responded. We had opportunities and we kick ourselves now because that game was there for us.’