Our picks

Arsenal 5 AFC Bournemouth 1 | Talking Points

Arsenal destroyed a woeful Bournemouth side on Wednesday night as the Gunners warmed up for the North London Derby with a comprehensive win at the Emirates.

Both sides made changes with Jenkinson, Ozil and Aubameyang amongst six Arsenal changes whilst Bournemouth were without Wilson and Solanke but welcomed David Brooks back on the bench.

As on Sunday against Southampton, Arsenal started quickly and lead after only four minutes as Kolasinac fizzed a ball into Ozil who punched the ball into the floor in the manner of a pool chip shot and over Boruc. The lead was doubled just before the half-hour mark as Mkhitaryan capitalised on a mistake, played a one-two with Ozil before stroking home. The second half started in the same manner as Ozil and Mkhitaryan combined down the right allowing Koscielny to score before Mkhitaryan sliced through Bournemouth to allow Aubameyang to round Boruc with strike partner Lacazette adding a late free kick.

Bournemouth did have chances of their own and Gosling robbed Guendouzi to gift Mousset his first Premier League goal as Bournemouth briefly threatened to come back at 2-1 after thirty minutes. Gosling and Ozil traded shots against the woodwork but in truth, Arsenal were embarrassingly dominant against a Bournemouth side lucky to not be down to ten men as Josh King dived before stamping on Koscielny.

Mesut the magician

There has been a lot of negative words written about the mercurial number 10, often on this page so there is no need to go over the issues he provides especially with his tendency in not performing when it matters. Wednesday night was an example of why he is so frustrating; the performance last night was classic of its genre. Grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck, flicks, weight of pass so perfect teammates didn’t have to move, goals, assists and a peripheral vision bordering on the supernatural. With the touch of Ronnie O’Sullivan and the subtlety and vision of Roger Federer, it was a joy to watch last night making the months of nothingness even more bizarre and left you wondering just how good Arsenal could be if he played like this every week.

Howe good is Eddie?

Another woeful away day for Bournemouth saw them concede at least two goals in a ninth away game in a row, indeed their run of goals conceded away (5,3,2,2,4,5,2,3,2) suggests this is this easiest team to play against in the league at home. Whilst Fulham’s plight may dispute that, Bournemouth remain an enigma.

Eddie Howe deserves only immense credit for the job he has done at a club, who, on paper shouldn’t be anywhere near the Premier League. But if Bournemouth are to progress and if Howe is ever to get the big jobs his potential and hype possibly deserve he needs to develop a defensive mindset to go along with the great football he plays. Howe simultaneously looks like the next Wenger or Southgate and the next Roberto Martinez but we shall see where he ends up.

Are Arsenal top four favourites?

Arsenal visit Tottenham on Saturday before hosting Manchester United the weekend after. After that Arsenal will play no other ‘top six’ side for the rest of the season and already in the top four Arsenal now look favourites to grab the last Champions League spot. The only possible issue may be the Europa League draw which has slightly opened up for Arsenal and it remains to be seen if Arsenal have the squad to compete on both fronts. Emery may have to prioritise one over the other but based on fixture run-ins only Arsenal must be favourites to play in the Champions League next season.

The Bosnian Bale

Saed Kolasinac has long viewed defending as an optional extra to being a full back and Emery may have solved that problem by playing Monreal behind him. Playing in a more advanced role Kolasinac raided forward and helped get the scoring going with a lovely fizzed ball into Ozil early on. Whether it is a long term solution is doubtful but a team with Kolasinac at left wing, Ozil and Mkhitaryan in midfield and Aubameyang and Lacazette up front would be a lot more creative than the often stodgy midfield of Torreira, Xhaka and Guendouzi.

90MAAT News Now

Premier League Table

90MAAT Social Media

ScoopDragon Football News Network

Search The Site