Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice kept Arsenal’s Premier League title challenge on track as they claimed an assured 3-0 victory over Bournemouth.
Lineups:
Arsenal (4-3-3, right to left): 22. David Raya (GK) — 4. Ben White, 2. William Saliba, 6. Gabriel, 18. Takehiro Tomiyasu— 8. Martin Odegaard, 5. Thomas Partey, 41. Declan Rice — 7. Bukayo Saka, 29. Kai Havertz, 19. Leandro Trossard.
Bournemouth (4-4-2 right to left): 42. Mark Travers (GK) — 15. Adam Smith, 25. Marcos Senesi, 27. Illia Zabarnyi, 11. Dango Ouattara — 14. Alex Scott, 4. Lewis Cook, 10. Ryan Christie, 19. Justin Kluivert — 24. Antoine Semenyo, 9. Dominic Solanke.
MORE: Where to watch Arsenal vs Bournemouth live stream, TV channel, lineups, prediction for Premier League match
It was one-way traffic early on at Emirates Stadium as the hosts piled on the pressure. Martin Odegaard, Saka and Trossard all had shots blocked, while Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers made sharp saves to deny the England winger and William Saliba.
Saliba’s opportunity came after he bailed out centre-back partner Gabriel at the other end, making a vital challenge to deny Dominic Solanke. It was a rare moment of encouragement for Andoni Iraola’s men, however, as Travers got down sharply to thwart Thomas Partey and Rice slashed wastefully wide from Kai Havertz’s knockdown.
Just as it looked like Bournemouth might reach the interval unscathed, Havertz went down under a challenge from Travers. Although replays appeared to show the Germany forward hung his leg in the challenge to seek contact, the VAR upheld referee David Coote’s decision to award a penalty and Saka coolly slotted home his 16th Premier League goal of the season.
ARSENAL TAKE A CRUCIAL LEAD. ???? Bukayo Saka converts the penalty after a foul was called on Kai Havertz in the box. ???? @USANetwork | #ARSBOU pic.twitter.com/3agbulhdcY
Havertz and Saka were involved again early in the second period, with the former Chelsea player producing some fine hold up play for the latter to shoot fairly tamely at Travers.
Lewis Cook was fortunate to only see yellow for a studs-up tackle on Saka in the first half but he made two exemplary challenges before the hour — the first on Odegaard to launch an attack that saw David Raya deny Solanke from a tight angle.
Justin Kluivert went close with a couple of attempts from range to ramp up the tension levels among the home support. Trossard clinically punctured those emotions when Rice teed him up for a clinical low finish.
VAR dominated the closing stages as Antoine Semenyo’s goal was ruled out for Bournemouth after Solanke was deemed to have impeded Raya. Saliba then had a screaming left-footed finish ruled out because Havertz was offside winning the initial header from a set-piece.
Neither incident proved to be of much consequence in the greater scheme of things, especially after Rice had the final say. Over to City.
PERFECT ASSIST, PERFECT FINISH. ???? Declan Rice beautifully tees up Leandro Trossard to make it 2-0 to Arsenal! pic.twitter.com/ManhTUPsv5
Arteta has been fortunate with injuries in recent weeks with Dutch star Jurrien Timber the only long-term absentee from his squad. He named an unchanged starting XI for the third game in a row.
Arsenal (4-3-3, right to left): Raya (GK) — White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu— Odegaard, Partey, Rice — Saka, Havertz, Trossard.
Arsenal subs (9): Ramsdale (GK), Jesus, Smith Rowe, Martinelli, Nketiah, Kiwior, Jorginho, Vieria, Zinchenko.
Bournemouth have already clinched Premier League safety with games to spare but Iraola's team are not in the battle for European qualification. Ryan Christie returns in midfield while Mark Travers is retained in goal.
Bournemouth (4-4-2 right to left): Travers (GK) — Smith, Senesi, Zabarnyi, Ouattara — Scott, Cook, Christie, Kluivert — Semenyo, Solanke.
Bournemouth subs (9): Neto (GK), McKenna, Faivre, Hill, Unal, Billing, Aarons, Kinsey, Sadi.
Here's how to watch this Premier League match across selected areas of the world's major regions:
Fubo Canada
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USA: This game is available for live broadcast on the NBC USA Network. Streaming options are available on Fubo who are currently offering a FREE trial to new users.
Universo and Telemundo are the places to go for Spanish language options.
