The Gunners produced one of the best Premier League comebacks at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday evening, as goals from Sanchez, Perez and Giroud in the last 20 minutes of the game ensured Arsenal left with a point following a poor first 70 minutes.
Bournemouth were 2 goals up within 20 minutes after Daniels and Wilson had put them forward following some dreadful defending from the visitors. And they weren’t able to reply no matter how hard they tried as the hosts were clearly better.
The 2nd half started on a brighter note for Arsenal, but they went down by one more goal after Fraser had out-muscled Bellerin to put himself through on goal and calmly slot the ball between Cech’s legs on the 58th minute.
But what followed was a determined performance from an Arsenal side that decided to wake up from their slumber, and it was Sanchez who pulled the strings.
The Chilean scored a header after Giroud’s header left him all alone with Boruc, while the French striker provided a sublime assist which Lucas Perez calmly put into the net with a cool volley of a finish after Bournemouth were reduced to 10 men with 10 minutes to go.
There was still time for one more goal, and Xhaka made up for his average performance by playing a fine cross into Giroud to nod the ball into the goal.
Below is the player ratings for the Gunners:
Cech
Was well-beaten for all goals, with his penalty record becoming much worse, but he did make some decent saves which helped the team in the end.
Rating: 4.5/10
Bellerin
His defensive and positional shortcomings were clearly exposed, as he could have done better in the build-up to all goals with Bournemouth choosing to use his flank.
Rating: 4/10
Mustafi
Misplaced a lot of passes going forward but put in some few defensive works at the back to prevent more damage being done.
Rating: 6/10
Koscielny
Held his own area down and kept things in check a little but was substituted because of a minor cramp.
Rating: 6/10
Monreal
Did well going forward but wasn’t solid defensively and appeared to play through some discomfort after a slight knock.
Rating: 6/10
Coquelin
Sustained an injury halfway into the first period but wasn’t able to do much prior to then with the team 2 goals down already.
Rating: 5/10
Xhaka
Fouled Fraser in the box to gift Bournemouth a penalty which Wilson calmly converted and wasn’t that effective on the corners.
Made up for his poor performance by providing the assist for Arsenal’s 3rd.
Rating: 6/10
Ramsey
Played 2 roles after Coquelin’s withdrawal and was better in the 2nd half, coming close to hitting Arsenal’s first shot on target.
Rating: 6/10
Sanchez
Inspired Arsenal back to life with his runs across everywhere on the pitch, unsettling the hosts’ defence with his long balls and starting the comeback with a goal.
Rating: 7.5/10
Iwobi
Poor game from the young Nigerian international after struggling to adapt to the pace of the game.
Rating: 5/10
Giroud
Assisted 2 and scored 1 to hand Arsenal one point.
Might have done just enough to earn back his spot in the starting XI.
Rating: 8.5/10
SUBSTITUTES
Oxlade-Chamberlain
Injected more energy into the game after coming on and also making a crucial interception to deny Fraser.
Rating: 6/10
Paulista
Joined the attack upon replacing Koscielny.
Rating: 6/10
Lucas
Scored his first Premier League goal with a brilliant volley. He looked menacing in the final third and hopefully, he will get more game time in the upcoming games.
Rating: 7.5/10