Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain give Gunners vital three points
Arsenal have responded to Leicester City’s and Tottenham Hotspur’s wins by beating AFC Bournemouth 2-0 at Dean Court thanks to goals from Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The Gunners have been in poor form over the past few weeks, failing to score in their last three league games and only picking up two points, but they returned to winning ways this afternoon thanks to two first-half goals that were separated by just 90-seconds.
Arsenal fans voiced their displeasure ahead of kick-off as they saw Mathieu Flamini starting ahead of Francis Coquelin, and they were nearly proven right after a matter of minutes as the Frenchman was lucky to avoid a straight red after a two-footed tackle on Dan Gosling.
Two Quick Goals
It took the visitors just 22-minutes before the took the lead as an Aaron Ramsey ball was nodded into the path of Ozil by Olivier Giroud, and the German nearly smashed home past Artur Boruc.
The travelling fans had only just finished celebrating the first when they were celebrating the second as Ramsey threaded through Oxlade-Chamberlain who powered home from a tight angle.
The Cherries nearly replied through Harry Arter, but his goal-bound shot was tipped over the bar superbly by the flying Petr Cech.
The second half was mainly dominated by the home side, but shot after shot was wasted and they failed to break down Arsene Wenger‘s men, who picked up only their second league win of 2016.
Cech made two smart saves at the end, whilst Ramsey missed a chance to settle the game at the other end.
The win puts Arsenal third in the table, level on points with Spurs, while Bournemouth sit 15th.
Match Reaction
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey, speaking to Sky Sports:Â “The game was won in the first half really. The boys responded really well and we go back to winning ways. Hopefully we can keep this run going now.
“I am pleased for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. It was a good performance from him today and hopefully he can keep up the form.”
Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini, speaking to Sky Sports: “It was a good team effort. I am very happy for the team. We have a tough game next week against Leicester and we have to win it.”
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, speaking to BBC Sport: “We had a strong start, with good finishing and we controlled the game. We beat a good side, it was three difficult points but three very important points for us because we had not won for a while.
“We lost a bit of our urgency in the second half. We lost the killer instinct to get the third goal and on top of that Bournemouth are physically a strong team.
“It was a must-win game for us today. Leicester have made a big impression in the last week after their results. They suddenly become the favourite in the Premier League and it makes our game a big game.”
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, speaking to BBC Sport: “We were slow out the blocks today, which is unlike us. If you give a team like Arsenal time on the ball they will punish you.
“We were much-improved in the second half without getting that goal to put them under pressure. We kept going, kept fighting, and if we had got that goal back with say 20 minutes to go, it would have made for an interesting finish. We got into some really good positions without the cutting edge we have had in recent weeks.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
