Sports
Arsenal beat Bournemouth in amazing comeback win with Reiss Nelson’s 97th-minute winner
Arsenal fought back against Bournemouth to claim all three points at the Emirates with the latest of late shows.
Reiss Nelson’s strike, deep into injury time, sent the Emirates in raptures on an afternoon that could prove defining in the title race. The Cherries scored the second fast goal in the competition’s history when Philip Billing finished within ten seconds.
The Gunners, who had seen Manchester City win just hours earlier, failed to make their pressure count before half-time and then fell two goals behind before the hour mark.
Marcos Senesi headed home in front of Bournemouth’s travelling faithful before Thomas Partey cut the deficit just minutes later. Ben White rounded off the comeback to set up a grandstand final 20 minutes. The hosts had all the momentum but couldn’t find the decisive fifth goal, even with a mammoth six minutes of added time.
They enjoyed the majority of possession with VAR consulted on several contentious calls, but the Premier League strugglers looked set to hold out – that was until Nelson’s late thunderbolt – which had the entire Arsenal bench celebrating on the pitch.
If Arsenal go on to claim a first league title since 2004, then an afternoon in March may well be pointed to as a pivotal moment. With an hour gone the Gunners trailed by two goals to Bournemouth, who threatened to blow the title race wide open.
A Partey goal after 62 minutes changed all that and, when White levelled the contest after 70 minutes, there was always a sense of inevitability about where the fifth goal would go. Of course it was to the hosts, who re-establish their five point lead at the top when it could’ve been just two.
Games that appear routine wins will be anything but in the final stretch of the campaign and this clash in north London highlighted that. Arsenal though showed a character that will have had a deflating impact on their rivals watching on.
Granit Xhaka’s absence from the starting XI was the headline before kick-off with the Swiss star being handed a rare afternoon on the bench. It allowed Fabio Vieira to come in having rarely started since his summer move from Porto.
The playmaker has had to deal with substitute cameos, which has somewhat limited him. His only start came at Brentford earlier this season, where he capped an impressive display with his only league goal of the campaign. Arsenal’s dominance with the ball was always going to play to his strengths and he occupied a more advanced role than Xhaka would adopt.
On the face of it, this game was the ideal opportunity to throw Vieira into the mix, but you get the impression Xhaka still provides more defensive assurances against the better sides in the league, thus the Portuguese’s time as a starter may be short lived.
Arsenal cruised past Bournemouth to go four points clear at the top of the Premier League before Saturday’s later games.
With the win, Arsenal ensured they kept the pressure on Manchester City in the title race.
Bukayo Saka opened the scoring with a first-half penalty, with the Gunners totally dominant for much of the game. They had an astonishing 16 shots in the first-half alone, with the Cherries managing just one and even that was not on target.
Saka’s penalty came on the stroke of half-time after Kai Havertz trailed his leg to ensure he was brought down by Bournemouth keeper Mark Travers. While the Cherries were resurgent after the break, they struggled to create clear-cut chances.
Arsenal keeper David Raya barely had a save to make, with Leandro Trossard wrapping up the three points when he swept the ball past Travers with 20 minutes to go before Declan Rice topped the win off with an injury-time goal. Here, Mirror Football looks at the biggest talking points from Arsenal’s win.
Arsenal are continuing to do their job in the title race, with this win moving them four points clear of Manchester City. The reigning champions play Wolves on Saturday evening, with their other game in hand coming a week on Tuesday.
The Gunners have a superior goal difference over their title rivals, which means City have to win both of their games in hand to overtake them. Mikel Arteta’s side have just two games left, against Manchester United and Everton.
That appears to be a slightly more difficult run-in compared to City, who after playing Wolves will face Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham. It means Arsenal appear to be relying on their bitter rivals Spurs to help them win the title.
It was honestly a mystery how Bukayo Saka’s penalty was the only difference between the teams come half-time. Arsenal had an astonishing 16 shots in the opening 45 minutes as they also dominated possession.
But as has happened so often this season, the Gunners struggled to convert that dominance into clear-cut chances. Just five of their shots were on target, highlighting what is likely to be Arsenal’s biggest focus in the transfer window.
Boss Arteta looks likely to target a new striker in the summer, with Kai Havertz playing through the middle against the Cherries. A proven goalscorer will be at the top of his list, given his side’s struggles to convert their chances.
Saka stepped up to score his sixth penalty of the season ( Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Bukayo Saka has now scored six penalties this season, his highest-ever total from the spot in one campaign. In fact, the last time he missed a penalty was over a year ago, with his last four spot-kicks coming in wins for his side.
Saka is now clearly in second in the Premier League scoring charts for penalties, a good sign for England ahead of Euro 2024. His style against Bournemouth keeper Mark Travers was typically cool and confident.
After waiting for several seconds following the referee’s whistle, Saka stuttered his run-up to allow Travers to dive before rolling the ball into the opposite corner. Saka is now clearly Arsenal’s man from the spot.
Bournemouth have been safe of relegation for some time and it showed in their trip to Arsenal. The visitors struggled to make much of an impact on the game in the first-half, with the Cherries failing to have any chances of note.
They were better after the break and were perhaps unlucky not to be awarded a penalty or a goal in the second period. But with the Cherries now 22 points clear of the relegation zone, this was a typical end of season performance from a side ready for their holidays.
Three minutes after Trossard scored Arsenal’s second, Bournemouth had the ball in the back of the net themselves. But referee David Coote ruled it out for foul on David Raya, though replays suggested the Arsenal keeper was barely touched.
Instead, it looked like the Cherries should have been awarded a penalty for a shirt pull, though VAR Peter Bankes ultimately sided with Coote. That decision allowed Raya to keep hold of his clean sheet, one which ensured has won the golden glove award.
Fourteen-year-old Daniel Anjorin, who was tragically killed in a sword attack in the UK, was honoured at Arsenal’s match against Bournemouth during a special tribute on Saturday.
The teenager, who was a fan of the North London club, lost his life horrifically while on his way to school in Hainault, east London, in broad daylight on Tuesday. Four others sustained injuries during the frenzied attack. His death has seen tributes pour in far and wide as donations reached £118,502 in two days.
The Gunners honoured the little boy’s memory before kick-off at the Emirates. Arsenal fans held a minute’s applause in the 14th minute.
Heartfelt pictures showed the moment the crowed clapped for the brave schoolboy, with another image showing fans waving a banner with the words ‘R.I.P Daniel’. Arsenal also displayed a sweet photograph of Daniel on the big screens before the game began. It is believed that the club have spoken to the family liaison officer to offer their support.
The club earlier said: “We share in the shock and sadness of Daniel Anjorin’s death earlier this week. With his family’s blessing, we will make a tribute to Daniel shortly ahead of kick off tomorrow. We ask all supporters to pay their respects to Daniel with us in this moment.”
The boy’s family told Sky News he was “a wonderful child” who was “well loved” and “hard working”, adding that his death “leaves a gaping wound in the family”. They told the broadcaster: “No family should have to go through what we are experiencing today. Any family will understand it’s an absolute tragedy.”
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