It was a hard-fought affair at the Vitality Stadium as Arsenal went onto register a win in their 13th match in the Premier League campaign this season. An own goal from Jefferson Lerma and a sweet finish from Pierre Emerick Aubameyang were good enough to get the Gunners past the line against the Cherries, helping them to strengthen their position in the pursuit of a place among the top four teams.
Unai Emery went in with a 3-4-2-1 formation and looked to attack Eddie Howe’s side from the word go. Both teams had a number of shots on goal as Arsenal took the lead via Jefferson Lerma. The Bournemouth midfielder put the ball in his own net as he went onto clear a cross from Sead Kolasinac in an acrobatic way. However, the Cherries came back on level terms through Joshua King right at the brink of half-time.
Kolasinac, who looked devastating on the left flank, passed the ball in the path of Aubameyang as the Gabon international picked up his 10th goal of the season with the simplest of finishes. The scoreline remained the same until the final whistle as Unai Emery’s side picked up another crucial win from an away fixture. Here is how the Arsenal players were rated from their win against Bournemouth.
Bernd Leno: 7
Parried the ball away several times to help his side bag another win. Made a match-winning save to deny Bournemouth a point towards the end of the match.
Shkodran Mustafi: 7
Superb composure and a very cool-headed performance from the German.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 6
Partnered Mustafi well in the backline. Lacked a bit of composure though.
Rob Holding: 7
Made some significant contributions with his blocks and interceptions.
Hector Bellerin: 7
Looked to threaten the Bournemouth defenders whenever on the attack. A perfect fit for the new formation implemented by Emery.
Lucas Torreira: 7
Solid as ever. Made a number of good interceptions and showed some brilliant ball control in midfield.
Granit Xhaka: 6
Did well to keep the ball possession in the middle of the pitch.
Sead Kolasinac: 8
Outstanding with his darting runs down the left-hand side. Delivered a number of telling crosses and devastated the Bournemouth defence with his agility and passing. Man of the Match for us.
Alex Iwobi: 6
Did well with his passing and ball control. Had a few shots on the goal as well. It was his through ball to Kolasinac that the left back squared off to Aubameyang for the match winning goal.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 6
Was a bit shaky in the first half but picked up the pace as the game progressed. Passed the ball well in the opposition box.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang: 7
Kept the pressure on the defenders from the very beginning and finally got his reward in the 67th minute as he netted the winner for his side.
Substitutes
Matteo Guendouzi: 6
Did well in his limited time on the pitch as he provided solidity to the midfield.
Aaron Ramsey: NA
Played very little to warrant a rating.
Eddie Nketiah: NA
Played very little to warrant a rating.
