A second-half comeback has seen Bournemouth come away from the Emirates Stadium with a shock 2-1 win over Arsenal in a Premier League match on Saturday, and leave Arsenal’s position in second spot shaky while boosting their hopes of qualifying for European football next season.
Declan Rice had put Arsenal ahead in an eventful first half that also saw Kepa Arrizabalaga deny Leandro Trossard on the line, while Justin Kluivert saw a shot deflected over the bar and Evanilson failed to score from a header after being set up in acres of space in the box.
But the Cherries relentless efforts yielded rewards in the second half through Dean Huijsen and Evanilson – who had a three-game suspension overturned by the league during the week – to give Bournemouth a first-ever win away at Arsenal.
Huijsen rose highest to head home a long throw-in from Antoine Semenyo to draw Bournemouth level, before a corner-kick was flicked on to the near post where Evanilson beat Martin Odegaard to squeeze the ball past David Raya at the near post for the winner.
Having also beat Arsenal 2-0 earlier this season for the first time ever, Bournemouth have now completed a league double over the Gunners this season and move to eighth place on the league table with 53 points.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal on the other hand remain second with 67 points but now lead third placed Manchester City by only three points with three games to go – a lead that can be cut to two points if Newcastle United win at Brighton on Sunday.
The Gunners will head to Paris for the UEFA Champions League second leg against Paris Saint-Germain in desperate mood to salvage their season after Arteta’s decision to start his first team players days before the crucial trip in midweek backfired in front of home fans.