Bournemouth produced a stunning second-half turnaround to defeat Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium, completing a historic league double over the Gunners for the first time. It also marked the first time the Cherries have avoided defeat away to Arsenal in any competition, having lost their previous eight visits.
Declan Rice had given Arsenal a first-half lead with a composed 34th-minute strike, as Mikel Arteta's men appeared to be in control and heading for a routine home win. That would unravel after the break, as Bournemouth responded with renewed intensity and clinical execution.
The game’s momentum shifted when Antoine Semenyo came off the bench and made an immediate impact. Within two minutes of his introduction, the forward’s long throw found its way to Dean Huijsen, who nodded in the equaliser at the near post to stun the home crowd.
Eight minutes later, the Cherries struck again. Evanilson made amends for a first-half miss by reacting sharply to a flicked header from Marcus Tavernier, squeezing his finish past David Raya at the back post to complete the turnaround.
Despite boasting a higher expected goals (xG) tally of 1.43 to Bournemouth’s 1.06, Arsenal couldn't find a way back and suffered their first Premier League home defeat when leading at half-time since January 2022—ending a 63-game unbeaten run in such scenarios.
The loss sees Arsenal remain in second place but drop 21 points from winning positions this season—equalling their most ever in a single Premier League campaign (2019–20). They now face a high-stakes clash with PSG midweek before traveling to Liverpool in another tough test.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, climb to eighth in the table, extending their unbeaten run to five league games and setting up an intriguing meeting with Aston Villa next weekend.
.jpeg)
0 Comments