Match 3: Bournemouth 0 - 3 Arsenal

Setting the scene

Going into the third game-week, Arsenal were one of two teams in the league with a perfect win rate. In previous seasons, away fixtures were frequently a weak point so it was very important to continue setting the tone away at Bournemouth with another good result. With Vieira having played in midweek for the under-21's, there was a chance for him to feature in the starting lineup, giving Arsenal their 4th debut performance of the season, but it would be a risk given the proven record with the first eleven from the last two games. Prior to the match, the odd's given by betting agencies gave an Arsenal win the best odd's at 11/25 compared to a draw at 7/2 which last season may have been more likely due to poor away form. In the previous two fixtures between the two clubs at the Vitality Stadium, Arsenal had won one and drawn one, so against a Bournemouth side who had just come off the back of a 4-0 loss to Man City, it was a fixture that Arsenal really had to capitalise on.

For the third match in a row, Arsenal lined up with the same starting 11, allowing the players to gain even greater familiarity with each other and the system. Below was the starting lineups for both teams:

Once again Arsenal utilised their positional play system to great effect but with some subtle changes in play-style. Rather than focussing play down the left side as was the case against Leicester, Arsenal were instead allowed to focus down the right side of the pitch and allowed Ben White to overlap on more occasions. How this was implemented will be discussed in the next section, but below is the tactical setup which allowed Arsenal to play with the freedom and unpredictability needed:

Due to the positional play style implemented by Arteta, the five forward players forced Bournemouth to adopt a back five with their wingbacks, Zemura and Smith, dropping deeper to provide cover at the back. This in turn meant that Bournemouth had a very narrow midfield three of Lerma, Tavernier and Pearson supporting the front two of Moore and Billing. These 5 were up against the Arsenal back three and central midfielders of Zinchenko and Partey.

How it played out

Arsenal came straight out of the gates with high intensity and looked to put Bournemouth under a lot of pressure. A goal within the first few minutes allowed Arsenal to gain more momentum and play with a lot of confidence, having 59% possession and a much higher passing accuracy. With a second goal not long after the first, Arsenal had shut the game down very quickly and showed signs of a top team by keeping pressure on Bournemouth and not letting them have any shots in the first half. In the second half, Arsenal took their foot off the gas slightly and did not seem as ruthless. It took a fantastic strike from William Saliba to finally seal the game off- a few minutes after a mistake from Ramsdale where it looked as though Bournemouth could have had a way back into the game.

Arsenals dominance was further confirmed by the number of shots from both teams- With the match xG score of Bournemouth 0.28 - 1.32 Arsenal, Arsenal had a better xG per shot of 0.094 against Bournemouth's 0.047 showing that their quality of chances was, on average, twice as good as Bournemouth's. Additionally, 11 of the 14 shots from Arsenal were taken from inside the area, implying that Arsenal were able to penetrate the Bournemouth defence on many occasions to create their shooting chances.

In addition to his goal, William Saliba had 73 completed passes out of 74 attempted, a completion rate of 98.6% and with the fourth highest progressive passing distance on the pitch. This shows that they weren't all safe passes and he was able to start attacks himself. His solidity at the back has been instrumental in allowing Arsenal to play with more freedom, knowing they have Saliba as cover, Arsenal are more willing to stretch their own defence when in possession in order to build play down the wings.

Both the first and third goals were created by individual talent- Gabriel Jesus made a fantastic run from deep, beating 3 players before playing in Martinelli whose shot was saved and the ball fell to Ødegaard who was able to put it away, whilst the third goal was an unexpected finish from the young centre back Saliba that caught everyone off guard. However, the second goal exemplified the flexibility of the Arsenal system and showed the tactical prowess of Mikel Arteta.

In contrast to the matches against Leicester and Crystal Palace, Arsenal built play down the right side of the pitch more often and this was facilitated largely by the positional play system. With the Bournemouth back five occupied with Martinelli, Xhaka, Jesus, Ødegaard and Saka, they had to play a very narrow midfield and front two against the Arsenal midfield and back line. Due to the technical ability of the players in the Arsenal back line, they were able to retain the ball very well whilst pushing Gabriel wider and Ben White even more so. Ben White being more of a wide defender, he tended to drift wide onto the right, pulling the Bournemouth midfield across and allowing Zinchenko to come inside and get involved in the play through the middle more easily.

Since the Bournemouth midfield played very narrow, it allowed a lot of space around the halfway line for Ben White to exploit through carries or by receiving passes into the space. Doing so essentially allowed Arsenal to bypass the Bournemouth midfield and create combinations between White, Ødegaard and Saka. Saka was allowed much more flexibility in his positioning this game and through drifting inside, allowed space for Ben White to overlap or create interplay with Saka and Ødegaard which was a common sight last season. We can see in the next section how this played out for the 2nd goal of the game.

Goal Analysis

5th Minute: Bournemouth 0 - 1 Arsenal (Martin Ødegaard)- A fine individual run from Gabriel Jesus to create a shooting chance which was saved but the ball fell to the Arsenal captain who was able to put it away.

Snapshot 1:

Gabriel Jesus brings the ball down and turns in one touch, taking his marker out of the equation. Ødegaard uses his awareness to place himself in space.

Snapshot 2:

Gabriel Jesus had beaten 3 players and found himself on the edge of the area with Martinelli on the outside.

Snapshot 3:

Martinelli received a pass from Jesus before taking a shot. Ødegaard waits in space in the middle of the area for a rebound.

Snapshot 4:

As the shot is saved, no one has picked up on Ødegaard's position as he sits in space around the penalty spot.

Snapshot 5:

The saved shot falls to Ødegaard as he slots the ball away easily.

11th Minute: Bournemouth 0 - 2 Arsenal (Martin Ødegaard)- Ben White and Saka exploiting the narrow Bournemouth defensive setup which allows a low cross into the box whereby a heavy touch from Jesus is picked up and scored by Ødegaard.

Snapshot 1:

Due to Bournemouth's narrow midfield, Ben White is able to carry the ball forward through the centre after Arsenal have progressed the ball to the right side of the defence, leaving the Bournemouth midfield lopsided. Saka takes up his position outside the Bournemouth wingback, providing the width.

Snapshot 2:

As Ben White has pushed forward, Saka has drifted even wider, creating a lot of space between himself and Zemura.

Snapshot 3:

With Saka. having a lot of space, when he receives the ball he has a lot of time allowing Ben White to begin an overlapping run which he does as soon as he plays the pass.

Snapshot 4:

Saka has closed down on the penalty area, creating a 2 vs 1 situation against Bournemouth on the right with Ben White having now overlapped.

Snapshot 5:

Ben White has the space to put a low cross into the area. Jesus waits with no marker ball-side allowing the cross to reach him easily whilst Ødegaard waits in space.

Snapshot 6:

Jesus' heavy touch falls into the space that Ødegaard has started to run into.

Snapshot 7:

Ødegaard is able to reach the ball and takes a first time shot that manages to find the back of the net.

54th Minute: Bournemouth 0 - 3 Arsenal (William Saliba)- A cross to the back post finds Xhaka in a lot space who is able to lay the ball off to Saliba on the edge of the box resulting in a fantastic cross goal finish.

Snapshot 1:

Martinelli on the right wing is able to play a cross into the penalty area. Xhaka waits in space at the back post while Saliba is marked in the area.

Snapshot 2:

As Xhaka brings the ball down at the back post, 7 of Bournemouth's outfield players are in and around the 6-yard box. Saliba has dropped off his marker and waits on the edge of the box.

Snapshot 3:

The ball is played back to Saliba who is waiting on the edge of the box and is able to find the top right corner with a fantastic strike across goal.

Prominent Arsenal Performances MotM- Martin Ødegaard:

Ødegaard got Arsenal off to a perfect start on Saturday with a goal in the 5th minute and grabbing a brace to seal the game off in the 11th minute. The Norwegian played brilliantly and fit into the tactical system with ease, exploiting space fantastically with his first goal and great awareness for the second. He could have grabbed himself an assist for a disallowed goal from Jesus in which he played an almost perfectly timed through ball through the Bournemouth back line, but Jesus was inches offside. On top of his brace, he contributed to 2 of the 6 Arsenal shots on target and had the highest xG on the pitch with a value of 0.64. He was also slightly more flexible in his positioning, allowing Saka more freedom to cut inside and in turn allowing Ben White to overlap more often to add width.

Key performance- Gabriel Jesus:

Despite his lack of goals on Saturday, Jesus showed exactly the kind of player he is and exactly why we bought him. His ability to express himself freely on the ball caused multiple issues for the Bournemouth defence and was a key factor in the first goal in which he beat 3 men to create a shooting chance. He also, somewhat unintentionally, bagged an assist for the second goal of the game, allowing his heavy touch to fall to Ødegaard who was able to find the back of the net. His individuality and class continues to grow game by game and he looks unlikely to let off the gas anytime soon. Disappointing performance- Gabriel Martinelli:

With a pinch of salt, Martinelli's performance was underwhelming, but that is largely when it is put into context with the rest of the team. He was one of the less noticeable players on the pitch, but similarly to Saka in Arsenal's previous two matches, this was largely as a result of the tactics employed by Arteta, wanting to focus play in the final third down the right side of the pitch. Despite having a high xG when compared to the other Arsenal players, only one of his 4 shots managed to find the target and his dribble success of 50% was his lowest of the last three games. That said, he did not have a bad game and should be satisfied with the fact that the team came before the players which was evident against Bournemouth.

Areas to improve

1. Second half chances conceded: With the dominance shown in the first half, it is no wonder that Arsenal let off the gas in the second half. It ended up working out fine and Saliba was able to grab another goal to put the nail in Bournemouth's coffin, but there was a slight lack of intensity in the second half of the game. In order to ensure good results across the whole season, it's important to instil a ruthless mentality and to not take it easier in the second half just because of a comfortable lead; After all, a two goal lead is the most dangerous lead.

2. Ramsdale complacency: Whilst Arsenal held a 2-0 lead, there was a rare moment of complacency from the distribution of Aaron Ramsdale. He handed Bournemouth a good opportunity when his drop-kick cannoned off Anthony creating a good chance for Bournemouth which Lerma, fortunately, was not able to convert. It is important going forwards that Arsenal cut out these kinds of mistakes and ensure that they are not put under any undue pressure that could result in an unnecessary goal.