Arsenal’s hopes of finishing second in the Premier League took a big hit after a surprise 2-1 loss to Bournemouth, who beat the Gunners home and away in the league for the first time ever.
Mikel Arteta’s side may have had one eye on their Champions League semi-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain coming up on Wednesday, but with their top-five spot not yet guaranteed, they couldn’t afford to take this game lightly. Declan Rice, playing his 100th game for Arsenal, had two early chances, but fired both wide after some slick build-up play.
Bournemouth looked dangerous too, with Evanilson heading over from close range. Arsenal had more chances, including a good header from Leandro Trossard that was saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga. Eventually, Rice opened the scoring, taking a clever pass from Martin Ødegaard, going around the keeper, and calmly slotting the ball into the empty net. But Arsenal’s defence looked shaky, and Evanilson nearly punished them again with a long-range effort after catching David Raya off his line.
After half-time, Arsenal pushed hard for a second, with Bukayo Saka going close after cutting inside, but it was Bournemouth who struck next. Just two minutes after coming on, Antoine Semenyo launched a long throw that Dean Huijsen flicked into the net with a fine header to make it 1-1.
The Cherries then grabbed a dramatic winner when Evanilson finished at the far post following a flick-on from Marcus Tavernier. The goal stood after a long VAR check for offside and handball, even though replays showed the ball may have hit Evanilson’s arm before going in.
Bournemouth held on for their first ever win at Arsenal and moved up to eighth place, keeping their hopes of European football alive. For Arsenal, it was a second straight home defeat and their first time losing back-to-back home games in over a year. They’ll now be nervously watching the teams behind them as the race for the top five heats up.
