Alexis Sanchez’s double ends brave Bournemouth resistance

Arsenal 3 Bournemouth 1

Arsenal have felt the ghosts of Novembers past but this was a win to restore a measure of stability.

It was not a vintage performance and there was a period in the first half, after Bournemouth had equalised through Callum Wilson’s hotly contested penalty, when the visitors appeared to be the likelier scorers of the next goal.

But Arsenal survived the wobble and, inspired by Alexis Sanchez, they emerged as the deserving victors and, in the process, provided their answer to the wins of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City on Saturday.

Theo Walcott got the decisive second goal - his ninth of the season - and it was a nice way for him to celebrate the birth of his second son, Arlo, while Sanchez, who had put Arsenal in front early on, added the gloss during stoppage time with a tap-in from the substitute Olivier Giroud's cross on the counterattack.

Sanchez now has 10 goals for the season.

Walcott was withdrawn towards the end and he sat on the bench with a heavy strapping on his lower leg but the aches and pains felt more bearable for him and Arsenal.

They had entered the game on the back of three rather underwhelming draws on the spin in all competitions and with Arsene Wenger demanding that they recover their fluency. The manager was a happier man here.

Bournemouth showed flashes and they shouted for a second penalty in the 72nd minute, when Simon Francis’s attempted through-ball in the area hit Nacho Monreal’s hand. Arsenal breathed a sigh of relief and their unbeaten run goes on; they have not lost since the opening weekend of the season to Liverpool.

Bournemouth had been jittery at the outset and Steve Cook, who had already been booked for a lunge on Sanchez after the forward had outpaced him, was guilty of the error that served to unlock the stalemate. Cook took a rolled-out ball from Adam Federici as Bournemouth tried to build from defence and turned it back in the general direction of the goalkeeper.

The pass, though, was short and off-target. Even worse, Sanchez was lurking and he could barely believe his luck. In yards of space, he cut inside and shot low past the exposed Federici.

Up in the stands, Jack Wilshere, who is on loan from Arsenal at Bournemouth and not allowed to feature against his parent club, sat with a cap pulled down over his face while Danny Welbeck, the injured Arsenal forward, shook him in celebration.

Bournemouth had also seen Francis, the right-back, cautioned in the seventh minute, after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had outpaced him and twice before the opening goal Arsenal might have scored only for Nathan Ake to thwart them.

First, he blocked Mesut Ozil’s goalbound shot, from Oxlade-Chamberlain’s cross and, later, he threw himself in front of a Mohamed Elneny effort, after Sanchez had worked a short free-kick.

Arsenal controlled the opening 20 minutes and they had shouted loudly for a penalty when Ake caught Sanchez on the edge of the area. There was contact but it appeared to take place outside of the box. The referee, Mike Jones, gave nothing.

Jones would act shortly afterwards, and his was a decision to incense the home support. They had wanted a free-kick for what they felt was a foul on Ozil but play went on and Bournemouth surged into the area through Wilson.

Over came Monreal, who flung out his arm and he caught the striker. The previous weekend, Wilson had been denied a clear penalty when Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross cleaned him out.

Here, he got a more debatable award and, after picking himself up, he shot low past Petr Cech from the spot. Shkodran Mustafi was booked for arguing about the decision.

The game turned in a flash, as Arsenal struggled to come to terms with the setback. They had lost Mathieu Debuchy after 15 minutes - the right-back felt something twang in what was his first appearance for the club since November of last year; he was replaced by an out-of-position, Gabriel Paulista - and it was Bournemouth who ought to have gone in front.

Adam Smith headed over on 26 minutes when gloriously placed following Ake’s header back and Brad Smith, playing his first league game for Bournemouth, worked Cech at his near post after a slick incision.

Eddie Howe’s two front players - Josh King and Wilson - troubled Arsenal at times, with the latter’s pace a particular problem until his withdrawal just after the hour. Junior Stanislas also flickered off the left. He would go off with a muscular injury.

Arsenal regained a foothold before the interval and it was Sanchez, inevitably, who was to the fore. He swiped over after an interchange with Ozil and, on the stroke of half-time, he rattled the crossbar from an angle on the right.

Monreal was central to the goal that put Arsenal back in front and it was an excellent piece of technique with which he returned Ozil’s cross from the right, which had flicked off Ake. The first-time ball was made to measure for Walcott, whose downwards header beat Federici.

Bournemouth were denied when Jones overlooked the handball claim against Monreal while Cech saved at close quarters from the substitute, Benik Afobe. The last word, however, went to Sanchez.

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