Declan Rice netted two goals as Premier League frontrunners Arsenal rallied to defeat Bournemouth.
Gunners defender Gabriel made an errant pass across his area, allowing Evanilson to score the first goal for the Cherries.
However, Rice compensated for it by scoring the equalizer as he struck a rebound after Gabriel Martinelli’s attempt was deflected.
Bournemouth created opportunities to take the lead, but Rice’s effort from the border of the area, following Martin Odegaard’s pass, put Arsenal in front.
The England midfielder, returning from a knee injury, scored once more after a pass back from substitute Bukayo Saka.
Teenager Eli Junior Kroupi offered Bournemouth fresh optimism with an impressive shot from a distance—yet they were unable to equalize.
Antoine Semenyo, possibly appearing in his last match for Bournemouth prior to a £65m transfer to Manchester City, remained unnoticeable throughout.
The win puts Mikel Arteta’s squad six points ahead of second-placed Aston Villa, but Manchester City can reduce the margin to four points when they face managerless Chelsea on Sunday (17:30 GMT).
Arteta’s team begins the second half of the Premier League season just as they finished the first, with a win. This marked their fifth consecutive victory in the league.
The Spaniard will also feel pleased that he managed to achieve this while rotating players—regular starters Leandro Trossard and Saka were on the bench.
At this point, outcomes, rather than standout performances, are what matter for Arsenal as they aim to secure their first title since 2003-04—and they are achieving the results.
Arsenal didn’t perform well in the first half, and Gabriel made his first mistake that led to a goal in the league since February 2023, as he inadvertently found fellow Brazilian Evanilson, who scored the opening goal for Bournemouth.
However, he compensated for that with the equalizer—thanks to Noni Madueke’s excellent contribution in the lead-up to it.
They hadn’t taken a shot since the 18th minute when Rice scored to make it 2-1 after 53 minutes, as Viktor Gyokeres maintained possession before Odegaard located his teammate in midfield.
Saka was substituted in as one of three changes for Arsenal and shortly after assisted Rice’s second—his first Premier League brace in his 296th league appearance.
They might have wished to sail to victory after that—but there weren’t many threats following Kroupi’s goal for Bournemouth.
Bournemouth’s fall down the standings is ongoing. They have now gone 11 matches without a victory—their longest streak without a win in a top-tier season.
They are in 15th place, yet nine points clear of the relegation zone, having not won a match since October.
However, this journey has yielded credible results and performances. In December, they tied with Chelsea and played an incredible 4-4 game against Manchester United.
Bournemouth took more shots than Arsenal in this match—15 compared to 12—and created better opportunities in the first half. They are merely the third team to net multiple goals against the Gunners in a match this season.
However, this represents yet another loss. Their frustrations erupted when Chris Kavanagh sounded the final whistle while they were pushing forward, believing they still had a chance to equalize.
Semenyo could be heading to City shortly, though manager Andoni Iraola anticipates he will feature against Tottenham on Wednesday—regardless, Kroupi has a genuine talent.
The 19-year-old French player is currently the highest-scoring teenager in the Premier League this season, netting six goals and scoring approximately once every 85 minutes.
