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Four things we learned: Bournemouth 3-3 Arsenal

Arsenal travelled to Bournemouth to play their second game in 48 hours, something Wenger rightly criticised ahead of the game. The Gunners were looking to make it three wins in three following solid victories over West Brom and Crystal Palace but as it turned out, that was never going to happen, despite a spirited comeback. 

Both teams started the game well but it was Bournemouth who would scored first. Daniels made a bursting run down the left which neither Ramsey nor Bellerin decided to cover; the Spaniard tucked in too far and Ramsey didn’t bother to track back. Bournemouth continued their dominance and after an Arsenal corner, they quickly broke which resulted in another clumsy Xhaka foul to give the Cherries a penalty, which Wilson dispatched. 

The second-half started much the same as the first ended with Bournemouth looking sharp. Arsenal, however, did slowly get back into the game but were served another setback when Fraser bullied Bellerin off the ball to then slot the ball through Cech’s legs. It looked as though the game was buried but for some magic from Sanchez, Perez and Giroud.  Sanchez scored the first with a bullet header, then Perez slotted home the second with an outstanding finish, with Giroud finally scoring the equaliser with a header to save Arsenal’s blushes. So here are the four things we learned…

 

1. Mustafi’s unbeaten run continues but it hides his poor performance 

The German international returned to the starting XI having missed a few games out with injury and continued his unbeaten run with his new club. Although the unbeaten run continues, Mustafi actually did not play well at all. Callum Wilson practically bullied the German for most fo the game, never giving him a minutes rest. Moreover, with the ball, Mustafi was absolutely shocking. For a player who is usually superb with the ball at his feet, Mustafi constantly missplaced his passes and in actual fact, his ball to Coquelin basically gave Bournemouth the start to their counterattack. Let’s hope Mustafi’s performance was just an anomaly due to his return to injury. 

2. Midfield cover is needed 

The hectic festive period is beginning to tell on Arsenal. No one seems to know when Santi Cazorla will return, his loss has severely hurt Arsenal and no one has stepped in to fill his boots. Mohamed Elneny has left to play in the ‘African Cup of Nations’, leaving Arsenal with one less body and now, Coquelin seemingly has picked up a knock. We don’t know how serious Coquelin’s injury is but regardless of that, Arsenal need bodies in midfield. A loan move for a holding midfielder could be a savvy acquisition by the club.   

3. What happened to Xhaka? 

Following a superb game against Palacae, Granit Xhaka put in a less than impressive performance against Bournemouth. Arsenal’s £35 million man, didn’t really provide Arsenal with a base to start their attacks and when Coquelin came off, he was incredibly vulnerable in defence, as highlighted by Bournemouth’s second goal. As we have seen a few times with Xhaka, he is quite immobile and at times, very clumsy, he showcased this brilliantly when he clattered into Fraser a penalty. Not a great game for the Swiss international. 

4. Arsenal’s title challenge hangs by a thread 

Arsenal needed to win against Bournemouth to put suitable pressure on Chelsea but they didn’t. If Chelsea beat Tottenham on Wednesday night, they will be 11 points ahead of the Gunners, a gap that the Arsenal are unlikely to eat up. Yes, anything can happen but there will likely be more slip-ups as the season progresses. Wenger’s men needed to put a string of wins together to build their confidence and momentum. The Premier League is usually won by the team that sits top at Christmas, Chelsea look odds-on to keep that going. 

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