Arsenal closed the distance with Premier League leaders Chelsea with a hard-fought win over the Cherries. The Gunners maintained their perfect record against Bournemouth despite conceding a penalty early in the first half, which had shifted the balance against them for a brief moment.
Here is how the Arsenal players fared in their first Premier League win of November-
Cech (8/10)- The Czech international had very little to do in the first half with a couple of Bournemouth open nets being squandered wide. But, he produced the save of the match for Arsenal by denying Afobe a goal from one yard against his former club. That really kept things intact.
Monreal (7.5/10)– The penalty was incredibly harsh and he was fuming throughout the first half. It clearly affected his decision making during that period.
But he was near perfect in the second half. His tackles were thumping, which had a shadow of his frustration and it did the job. Had 3 brilliant clearances.
Koscielny (7.5/10)– Finally, we get a glimpse of the real Koscielny. The nominee in the UEFA team of the year had it all sorted out today. Made 7 clearances, and intercepted the ball 6 times.
He has the best interception record in the Premier League this season.
Mustafi (8/10)– His job was doubled when Gabriel had to come on early for Debuchy. Arsenal even considered playing the German in the right-back position for a moment before sticking with the Brazilian. And it was the right decision.
Made 5 interceptions and 5 clearances.
Gabriel (7.5/10)– He had to come early on replacing Mathieu Debuchy and took almost the full first half to settle in. He did really well in the second half and earned the crowds applaud every time he went hard into tackles.
Made 3 clearances and 1 interception, although he kept the right back position very assured for his team.
