6 talking points as Arsenal survive Bournemouth scare and Rice stars on return
BOURNEMOUTH 2-3 ARSENAL: Declan Rice’s double and a goal from Gabriel Magalhaes gave the Gunners another crucial win, as they staved off a late comeback from the hosts
Arsenal survived a late scare from Bournemouth to move six points clear at the top of the Premier League table. The Gunners came from behind and ran out 3-2 winners, with two second-half goals from Declan Rice proving vital.
Bournemouth were handed an early lead thanks to a head-in-hands moments from Gabriel Magalhaes, as Evanilson pounced on his wayward pass. Gabriel quickly earned redemption, though, equalising for the visitors six minutes later.
Rice’s braced looked to have taken the game away from Bournemouth, but a stunning strike from Eli Junior Kroupi just a couple of minutes after coming on as a substitute made it a nervy finish. Arsenal had to batten down the hatches in order to seal the win and extend their lead at the summit.
Mikel Arteta was boosted by the availability of Rice, whose starting role was somewhat of a surprise, having missed Tuesday’s 4-1 win against Aston Villa because of a knee injury. Bukayo Saka was named on the bench, likely with an eye on Thursday’s game at home to Liverpool.
For Bournemouth, their supporters were given what could well be one last chance to watch Antoine Semenyo in action. The Cherries star is expected to join Manchester City for £65million in the coming days, although it could be after Andoni Iraola’s side host Tottenham on Wednesday.
Here are six talking points from the Vitality.
READ MORE: Why Kai Havertz is out of Arsenal squad for Bournemouth as Declan Rice call confirmedREAD MORE: Ex-Arsenal transfer target set to have RATS thrown at him by angry fans in Barcelona clash
1. Gabriel’s six minutes of mayhem
It might be 2026 but Gabriel is still handing out Christmas presents. With just 10 minutes gone and after Arsenal had weathered Bournemouth’s strong start, the Brazilian got a routine pass all wrong and gave the ball straight to Evanilson on the edge of the penalty area.
The striker, who probably couldn’t believe his luck, had a simple task to slot the ball home beyond the scrambling David Raya and break the deadlock. It was uncharacteristic error from Gabriel, who looked to the sky in frustration.
But the Arsenal star only needed six minutes to make amends. Good work from Noni Madueke on the right of the box led to a goalmouth scramble, and the ball eventually fell to Gabriel, who produced a cool left-footed finish.
This time, he looked to sky in relief. Rapid redemption.
2. Arteta fumes after Semenyo escapes sending off
What may go down as Semenyo’s farewell appearance almost ended prematurely when he risked being sent off with little over half an hour on the clock. The Ghana international had received a yellow card in the 26th minute for a foul in Piero Hincapie.
Shortly after, Semenyo went chasing Declan Rice as Arsenal burst forward, as he grabbed the midfielder’s arm. Rice, to his credit, stayed on his feet but his pass was intercepted, arguing with Chris Kavanagh that he’d been impeded by Semenyo.
Arteta was of the same opinion, gesticulating towards the forth official. The Arsenal manager then got into a heated discussion with Bournemouth’s coaching staff over the decision not to show Semenyo a second yellow.
What also didn’t please Arteta was his players’ lacklustre use of the ball. The Gunners made plenty of unforced errors in the first half and went into the break level with their hosts, who hadn’t won a game since October.
3. Comeback complete
The finish from Rice? The hold-up play from Viktor Gyokeres? The lay-off from Martin Odegaard? Take your pick from his marvellous Arsenal goal.
A long ball forward from Jurrien Timber needed Gyokeres to latch onto it, and the Swede did exactly that – and he could’ve had a penalty given how Marcos Senesi was grappling with him. Odegaard picked up his pass inside the penalty area and waited just long enough for Rice to arrive on the edge of the box, as the Arsenal captain showed great awareness.
Then, in typical Rice fashion, he produced a fine first-time strike, drilling the ball past Djordje Petrovic. The comeback was complete – but the three points weren’t sealed.
4. Another game goes begging for Gyokeres
It’s now been more than two months since Gyokeres scored a goal from open play for Arsenal. Granted, the £64million man missed four games through injury but he’s had enough minutes to improve his tally of just seven goals this season.
Gyokeres will argue that he hasn’t been given enough chances by his team-mates, who are clearly still adapting to playing alongside him. But with Gabriel Jesus, who replaced him after 67 minutes, approaching full fitness and Kai Havertz nearing a return, the former Sporting Lisbon star will be starting to fear for his place.
Should Mikel Arteta drop Viktor Gyokeres? Have your say in the comments section.
5. Rice doubles up
If you’re trailing 2-1 and see Bukayo Saka coming on, you’re bound to be afraid. It didn’t take long for the substitute to make an impact, making a darting run inside of Adrien Truffert and drawing a flood of Bournemouth players towards him inside the penalty area.
But Saka was unselfish and laid it off to Rice, who was in acres of space. The 26-year-old made no mistake, scoring a Premier League brace for the first time in his career.
6. Bournemouth’s late hope
For all the talk of Arsenal’s quality on the bench, Bournemouth had firepower in reserve, in particular Kroupi. The teenager is making a name for himself at the Vitality and goals like this won’t do him any harm.
Just two minutes after his introduction, Kroupi collected the ball around 20 yards out and confidently shot towards goal, netting his sixth league goal of the season. Raya’s footwork was questionable but take nothing away from the strike.
Suddenly, tension filled the south coast air. Arsenal maintained their composure, though, and took home maximum points, starting 2026 with a hard-earned victory.
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