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Arsenal secured a comfortable 3-0 win against Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday, April 4.
Arsenal made a dominant start to the first half and kept the ball for long spells of play. They seemed to create a shooting opportunity every time they ventured forward, but lacked the final touch in the initial stages. Bournemouth were extremely compact at the back and were blocking everything that came at them as the Gunners continued to push forward.
The hosts created several chances to score with most of their attackers attempting shots in the first period. William Saliba, too, ventured forward on one occasion and almost tested the goalkeeper with his left-footed attempt. Declan Rice had a great chance to score late in the first period but fired his shot marginally wide. Arsenal were awarded a penalty as Kai Havertz was fouled by Mark Travers.
Bukayo Saka stepped up and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way as the Gunners carried a 1-0 lead into the break.
Bournemouth made a much better start to the second half than they did the first, and also attempted multiple shots in the early stages. They found spaces behind Arsenal's lines in the initial exchanges but were unable to find a way past David Raya in the hosts' goal. The teams shared the ball 50-50 in the second period as the game opened up considerably.
The Gunners doubled their lead after 70 minutes following a lovely run of play that ended in a pinpoint pass by Declan Rice to Leandro Trossard. The Belgian applied a smart finish to make it 2-0 as Arsenal looked comfortable. They were spared as Bournemouth were disallowed a goal after Dominic Solanke's foul on Raya, but sealed the deal with a well-constructed goal in the 97th minute.
Substitute Gabriel Jesus kickstarted the move from near the halfway line with a deft one-two with Martin Odegaard. Jesus then carried the ball forward and picked out Rice's late run with perfection as the Englishman scored to secure all three points. On that note, let's take a look at the five hits and flops from the game.
#5. Hit - Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Rice played a near flawless game in the middle of the park for the Gunners. He was instrumental in their domination of possession in the first half as he passed the ball with 90% accuracy, including three key passes and one cross. Rice also won three of his six duels in midfield and made two interceptions and one tackle.
Rice assisted Arsenal's second goal scored by Trossard with a lovely weighted pass towards the Belgian. The Englishman was caught wrong-footed but kept his balance to play an important pass. Rice then bagged a goal for himself in the 97th minute following a lovely pass by Jesus.
#4. Flop - Justin Kluivert (Bournemouth)
Kluivert made some good runs for Bournemouth but was unable to trouble Arsenal's defense due to his lack of assertiveness in the final third. He had three attempts, but none of them were even close to going in. However, the Dutchman's body language made it seem as though he was close to scoring, which wasn't the case.
Arguably the best ball-striker on his team, a bit more focus on achieving his targets would have boded well for Kluivert. He won nine duels and also completed two dribbles past players.
#3. Hit - Kai Havertz (Arsenal)
The German proved to be a handful for Bournemouth defenders with his smart movement in and around the box. He often dropped deep to facilitate play but also acted as the target man and held up play on a few occasions. Havertz earned the penalty which Arsenal scored from towards the end of the first half after he was tripped by Mark Travers.
Havertz had two decent chances to score and fired two shots on target but did not trouble the goalkeeper. However, his effectiveness off the ball was unparalleled. Havertz won a whopping 12 duels and made one interception. He also played two key passes.
#2. Flop - Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth)
Solanke had an extremely quiet outing for Bournemouth and failed to make an impact on the proceedings. He attempted just one shot during the entire duration of the game. He also played just 11 accurate passes despite having 31 touches of the ball overall.
Solanke was involved in a come-together with Raya in Arsenal's goal in the second half, leading to Bournemouth's opener. Despite the Cherries scoring, it was disallowed for Solanke's foul on Raya.
Apart from this, Dominic Solanke also lost the ball 12 times but also won eight duels.
#1. Hit - Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
Arsenal's skipper had a great game in the middle of the park as he pulled the strings in midfield. Odegaard's effort was incredible as he did not seem to stop running, popping up in key positions and playing some lovely passes. The Norwegian also wowed the Emirates crowd with his periodic backheel passes and deft touches.
The Norwegian was the best player on the pitch by a mile, passing the ball with 88% accuracy and playing one cross. He also won five duels and attempted three shots that were all off target. His creativity with the ball allowed his team to stay ahead and eventually secure a big win.
