Bournemouth secured their first-ever victory at the Emirates Stadium, coming from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1 on Saturday and dealing a blow to the Gunners’ momentum ahead of their crucial Champions League semi-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain. The win also significantly boosts the Cherries’ own hopes of European qualification.
Despite Mikel Arteta opting against resting key players ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Paris, where Arsenal must overturn a 1-0 deficit, his side suffered their second consecutive Premier League match without a win.
Declan Rice gave the hosts the lead 11 minutes before halftime, marking his 100th appearance for the club by rounding the goalkeeper (Neto, replacing the injured Kepa Arrizabalaga mentioned in the source text) and firing home.
However, Bournemouth, who had created decent chances themselves in the first half, produced an impressive second-half fightback focused on set pieces. Substitute Antoine Semenyo made an impact, and from his long throw-in, defender Dean Huijsen headed the equaliser in the 67th minute.
The turnaround was completed just eight minutes later when Arsenal failed to deal with a corner, allowing striker Evanilson to bundle the ball home from close range for the winner. Worryingly for Arsenal, they failed to register a single shot on target after falling behind, highlighting a lack of cutting edge. It was also the first time since December 2023 that the Gunners had conceded twice from set-piece situations in a league match.
The victory is a major boost for Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth side, ending a poor run of just one win in nine games and lifting them to eighth place in the table (53 points). While they face tough final games against Aston Villa and Manchester City, this result keeps their hopes of qualifying for Europe next season alive.
For Arsenal, who remain second in the Premier League (67 points), this was far from ideal preparation for their season-defining trip to the Parc des Princes on Wednesday. They must now regroup quickly to attempt a comeback against PSG and keep their hopes of a first-ever Champions League title alive.
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