AFC Bournemouth breathed life into their European aspirations as second-half goals from Dean Huijsen and Evanilson helped them to a 2-1 comeback win at Arsenal, the first time they have claimed points at Emirates Stadium.
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Preparations for Wednesday's second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final at Paris Saint-Germain hardly went to plan for Arsenal, who suffered another disappointing home result.
Declan Rice opened the scoring in the 34th minute following a delicate Martin Odegaard pass but Arsenal squandered another lead in the second half, just as they did in their 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace last time out in the Premier League.
Huijsen headed home Bournemouth’s 67th-minute leveller from substitute Antoine Semenyo's long throw before Evanilson latched on to Marcus Tavernier's flick-on to poke in the winner eight minutes later.
The turnaround leaves second-place Arsenal just three points clear of Manchester City, while Bournemouth climb to eighth, two points above Fulham following the Cottagers’ loss at Aston Villa.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
34 | +48 | 82 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
35 | +33 | 67 |
| 3 |
Man City
MCI
|
35 | +24 | 64 |
| 4 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
34 | +21 | 62 |
| 5 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
34 | +19 | 60 |
| 6 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
34 | +12 | 60 |
| 7 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
35 | +6 | 60 |
| 8 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
35 | +13 | 53 |
| 9 |
Fulham
FUL
|
35 | +3 | 51 |
How the match unfolded
Evanilson headed over a glorious opportunity from Milos Kerkez's pinpoint left-wing delivery, before Leandro Trossard's stooping header was snaffled on the line by Kepa at the other end.
A real moment of quality brought the opener as Odegaard's cute reverse pass released Rice to round Kepa before he fired past the despairing dive of Illia Zabarnyi.
Bournemouth offered a positive response to that setback as Justin Kluivert's strike deflected narrowly over, before Evanilson almost lobbed David Raya after a misplaced pass from the goalkeeper on the stroke of half-time.
Bukayo Saka hammered just wide of the top-right corner with his right foot shortly after the break, but then Bournemouth hit back when a towering Huijsen nodded Semenyo's long throw into the far corner.
Another set-piece proved fruitful as Alex Scott's left-wing corner found Tavernier at the near post, and his flick-on allowed Evanilson to bundle home, with the winning goal confirmed by a VAR check that found no conclusive evidence the striker had handled.
Arsenal's season hangs in balance
Mikel Arteta may have been expected to rotate his side with one eye on Wednesday's visit to PSG, who lead 1-0 on aggregate after the first leg, but the Arsenal boss selected a full-strength starting XI on Saturday.
Arsenal's host of first-choice stars were far from fluid in the early stages as Rice, making his 100th appearance for the club, twice fired tamely wide from chances created by the energetic Gabriel Martinelli, while Ben White's cross forced Zabarnyi to head away on the line.
The hosts' lack of cutting edge was again clear when Martinelli rushed a left-footed strike well wide with acres of room at the edge of Bournemouth's area, just minutes before teeing up Trossard's close-range headed chance.
However, Rice displayed composure previously lacked by Arsenal to edge the hosts ahead with his eighth goal across all competitions this season – the best scoring campaign of his career.
Saka then passed up a couple of second-half chances before Huijsen and Evanilson delivered the hammer blows as Arsenal failed to win for a 10th Premier League match when leading.
With PSG to come, and Man City chasing second place before Arsenal visit champions Liverpool in eight days' time, the Gunners' season is hanging in the balance after another late-season collapse.
Battling Bournemouth boost European chances
Andoni Iraola may have been concerned by just one win in Bournemouth's last nine league matches before Saturday, but this comeback made it five matches unbeaten and gives them a real chance of European football next season.
The visitors did not play like a side devoid of confidence-boosting victories, knocking possession around with consummate ease before Evanilson somehow headed over from close range after Kerkez's delightful cross.
Dango Ouattara could also have tested Raya but William Saliba's excellent last-ditch tackle thwarted an excellent through-ball from Kluivert shortly before Rice's opener.
Another Saliba block saw Kluivert's dipping strike fall the wrong side of the crossbar, before Ouattara picked the pocket of Odegaard from Raya's pass and teed up Evanilson to clip just over the target.
Yet for all of their easy-on-the-eye football, two set-pieces proved the difference as diminutive winger Semenyo launched his throw on to the head of Huijsen, before Evanilson outmuscled Odegaard to bundle a finish under Raya for the winner.
This battling win marked Bournemouth's first Premier League victory at Arsenal, and Iraola will know more results like this are needed to solidify their European hopes ahead of hosting Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa next Saturday.
Club reports
Arsenal report | Bournemouth report
What the managers said
Mikel Arteta: "We should have killed the game and we didn't. On top of that if you defend your box in two set-pieces in the way we have done you're in big, big, trouble. We defended really poorly, nowhere near the standards that we are used to. We wanted to generate the momentum and a really positive vibe today - we haven't. What we have created is frustration, rage and anger - make sure we use that on Wednesday."
Andoni Iraola: "I like the game overall. I think we had chances. They scored but we played well. The key was the set plays in the second half. I think we needed this one because we know the schedule we have. Arsenal, Villa, City, you have to get points where you don't expect. We missed a few chances recently and we needed it this time to go to our side."
Remaining PL fixtures
Key facts
Bournemouth have completed a league double over Arsenal, with today the first time they’ve ever avoided defeat away against the Gunners in all competitions (L8).
Arsenal have dropped 21 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, their joint-most ever in a single campaign (also 21 in 2019/20).
Arsenal conceded two goals from set-piece situations (excluding penalties) in the same Premier League match for the first time since December 2023 against Luton Town.
Huijsen’s equaliser was Bournemouth’s first shot on target in this match, and their first Premier League goal from a throw-in since Joshua King against Liverpool in April 2017.