Arsenal 3 Bournemouth 0: MATCH HIGHLIGHTS – Gunners hit back after Anfield humiliation with morale boosting victory against Bournemouth at the Emirates
Danny Welbeck was star of the show with a double and record signing Alexandre Lacazette bagged his second league goal of campaign
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DANNY WELBECK took his goals tally to three goals in four games as Arsenal swat aside Bournemouth.
His sixth-minute effort – diverting a Sead Kolasinac cross past Asmir Begovic off his shoulder got the ball rolling.
And the game was pretty much in the bag when Alexandre Lacazette scored his second goal of the season
with a classy 27th minute finish after a one-two on the edge of the box with Welbeck.
Then Welbeck clinically fired a 50th-minute shot into the bottom right corner after being set up by Ramsey.
It made sure Arsenal did not lose three Premier League games in a row for the first time since January 2012.
This was clearly Welbeck back at his best and he was so unlucky not to complete a stunning hat-trick when his turn on the edge of the box took him past two Bournemouth defenders before he lobbed just over.
This was an easy day at the office for Arsenal, who had few problems against a Cherries side that offered little.
The only time Arsene Wenger’s heart would have been in his mouth was when Jermain Defoe struck a post from a Jordan Ibe cross.
But it would not have counted as the linesman had flagged offside.
Mesut Ozil had a fine game. His pass, which picked out Lacazette on the edge of the box for his goal, was peach.
Alexis Sanchez came on as a 75th minute sub to a few boos from the crowd but he almost made an immediate impact, slipping a pass into the path of fellow sub Olivier Giroud, who shot was saved by Begovic.
The afternoon ended on a sour note for the Gunners with midfielder Francis Coquelin limping off with what looked like a hamstring injury.
The Frenchman will be a major doubt for their opening Europa League game against Cologne on Thursday.
FACTS, STATS, GOALS & LOLS
- Arsenal’s four home meetings with Bournemouth in all competitions have all ended in victory, with the most recent being a 3-1 win in November last season.
- Bournemouth have only avoided defeat once in all competitions against the Gunners – this came at the Vitality Stadium last season, when the Cherries let a three-goal lead slip to draw 3-3 in January in the Premier League.
- Arsenal have won their last 24 home Premier League matches against sides who started that day in the relegation zone, since drawing 4-4 with Spurs in October 2008.
- Arsenal have not lost three of their opening four games to a league campaign since 1982-83 (W0 D1 L3 – finished 10th).
The Gunners haven’t suffered three successive Premier League defeats since January 2012. - Arsene Wenger has won more Premier League matches at Arsenal (459 of 794 games) than the other 19 managers in the competition have won in the competition at their current clubs combined.
- There have been just eight previous instances of a side losing their opening four games to a Premier League season; the last being Southampton in 2012-13. Of these eight sides, four have been relegated.
WHAT THEY SAID
Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck: "We have had a difficult few weeks and we got the right result - but it has to continue.
"You have to be prepared and execute the gameplan. The early goal helped us along the way. We have got Cologne on Thursday and then Chelsea away next Sunday.
"It is a good headache for the manager t have up front with me, Lacazette, Giroud and Sanchez."
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe: "That was nowhere near where we need to be.
"You can get bad results in the Premier League, but when you don't have performances, that's where concerns creep in. That's where we are. We will lick our wounds.
"We are not creating chances, we are giving up too many chances and we are not passing the ball well."
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SOCIAL SAYS
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
ARSENAL: Cech 7, Mustafi 7, Koscielny 7, Monreal 7, Bellerin 7, Ramsey 7 (Coquelin, 67,6) Xhaka 7, Kolasinac 8, Ozil 7, Welbeck 9 (Sanchez 75,6) Lacazette 8 (Giroud 75,6).
Subs not used: Ospina, Mertesacker, Iwobi, Walcott.
BOURNEMOUTH: Begovic 6, A Smith 6, S Cook 6, Ake 6, Mings 5 (Francis 45,5), Daniels 6, Gosling 6, Arter 6, Fraser 5 (Ibe 38,6), Defoe 5 (Mousset 71,5), King 6.
Subs not used: Boruc, Surman,L Cook, Pugh.
STAR MAN: Danny Welbeck