ONE DOWN after nine seconds, one ahead with the final kick of the game… Arsenal are not giving up their title dreams without one hell of a scrap.
Reiss Nelson’s 97th minute winner sparked scenes of absolute pandemonium at the Emirates as Mikel Arteta’s men clawed their way back from two goals down right at the death.
Even Arteta could not contain his joy as he piled into the mass celebrations at the final whistle.
And Nelson, a second-half replacement for first-half sub Emile Smith Rowe, will probably never score a more important goal in his life.
It means their five-point lead at the top of the table is restored following Manchester City’s lunchtime win over Newcastle.
But, boy, did they leave it late before seeing off a Bournemouth team who fought with all their hearts yet departed North London even deeper in relegation trouble.
It was an absolute sickener for Cherries boss Gary O’Neil but one he probably cannot complain about after Nelson struck gold with Arsenal’s 31st shot of this extraordinary match.
They also had 17 corners and 81 percent possession yet still managed to put their fans through the emotional wringer before Nelson chested down Martin Odegaard’s last gasp corner to curl an unstoppable left footer into the top corner.
Many of those supporters hadn’t even taken their seats when their team was a goal behind before a single Arsenal player had even touched the ball.
Bournemouth lined up to kick-off with six players stretched across the halfway line on the left-hand side of the pitch.
Most read in Football
But that was a cunning ploy because the ball was played to Dango Ouattara out on the right wing and he was able to run virtually unchallenged before delivering a low cross into the box.
Yet it only became an issue for Arsenal when Gabriel Magalhaes allowed the ball to slip under his boot to leave Philip Billing the freedom of the penalty area to pick his spot with just 9.11 seconds on the clock.
It wasn’t quite the quickest goal in Premier League history – that was scored in just 7.96 seconds by Shane Long for Southampton in 2019.
But it was pretty damn close to a record – and not one anyone of an Arsenal persuasion wanted to claim.
Even the relegation-haunted Bournemouth players looked stunned to find themselves ahead at the home of the Premier League leaders.
Yet it wasn’t the first time they had scored directly from the kick-off. They did the same thing in the Championship against Fulham last season.
And what that goal out of the blue allowed them to do was to withdraw everyone behind the ball and turn their penalty area into the football equivalent of Waterloo Station at rush hour.
Arsenal being Arsenal, of course, they still tried to pass their way through all the traffic and almost found an immediate route to goal in the fourth minute.
But Odegaard’s low shot was clawed out at full stretch by Neto and the Brazilian keeper was able to clamber to his feet to block Bukayo Saka’s follow-up with his chest.
And Arsenal’s problems intensified when Leandro Trossard limped off midway through the first-half to leave Arteta without a recognised striker.
With Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah already ruled out by injury, that could prove to be a real problem in the coming weeks.
In fact, the visitors should have been even further ahead at the break after repeatedly catching Arsenal on the counter attack.
Their best opportunity came in the 20th minute when Dominic Solanke and Billing raced away to tee up Ouattara for a shot which demanded a crucial save from the isolated Aaron Ramsdale.
Yet Arsenal failed to learn their lessons from that close escape and were caught on the break again in the 43rd minute, but this time Solanke’s final pass to Ouattara was overhit and went out for a goal-kick.
Arsenal were convinced they should have had a 34th minute penalty when Chris Mepham completely misjudged an attempted header and the ball dropped onto the top of his outstretched arm.
But as no-one understands the handball rule any more, their appeals were waved away by VAR John Brooks, the man who was removed from Premier League duties last month when he drew the offside lines from the wrong player to deny Brighton a winning goal at Crystal Palace.
And that was to prove the least of Arsenal’s worries when they fell further behind in the 57th minute following Bournemouth’s first corner of the match.
Joe Rothwell’’s delivery picked out Marcos Senesi bursting ahead of Thomas Partey and the Argentine defender’s header was too powerful for even Ramsdale to keep out.
Yet Arsenal have not got to the top of the league without spirit and character and refused to concede defeat even when all looked lost.
They were back within touching distance in the 62nd minute when Partey volleyed in at the back post after Neto’s clearing punch had been headed back into the mix by Smith Rowe.
And eight minutes later they were all square again when Nelson’s cross picked out Ben White arriving like an express train to hammer home his first goal of the season.
Read More on The Sun
That was Nelson’s first kick of the game just seconds after he had replaced Smith Rowe.
But it was his final touch which might just prove decisive in the final reckoning.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
