Bournemouth vs Arsenal; Premier League
Bournemouth vs Arsenal. Premier League.
Vitality StadiumAttendance11,240.
Bournemouth 2
- Evanilson (10th minute)
- E Kroupi (76th minute)
Arsenal 3
- Gabriel (16th minute)
- D Rice (54th minute, 71st minute)
Bournemouth 2-3 Arsenal: Declan Rice's second-half double sends Gunners six points clear at top of Premier League table
Report and free match highlights as Arsenal beat Bournemouth 3-2 to go six points clear at the top of the table; Gabriel's mistake allowed Evanilson to put the Cherries in front but the Arsenal defender equalised six minutes later; Declan Rice scored twice after half-time to seal the win
Saturday 3 January 2026 22:23, UK
Declan Rice's second-half double proved crucial to put Arsenal six points clear at the top of the Premier League table via a 3-2 win over Bournemouth, despite multiple scares on the south coast.
Rice - who missed the win over Aston Villa with a swollen knee but was straight back in the starting line-up - proved his value to the team by crashing in two goals from inside the box.
It was a match the midfielder nearly missed as his recovery from a swollen knee was touch-and-go. "Until the last minute I asked him, 'how are you feeling?'" recalled Mikel Arteta. "He said, I'm in. And he showed that he was big time in."
But it was a tricky encounter for the league leaders against Andoni Iraola's side, who did the double over the Gunners last season, and Paul Merson described their first-half display as "one of the worst first halves I've seen Arsenal have".
- As it happened | Teams | Stats
- Live Premier League table | Watch FREE PL highlights
- Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱
- Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺
That was no better seen when Gabriel gifted Evanilson a tap-in after just 10 minutes via a slack pass across his goal. The Bournemouth forward had the simple task of rolling the ball into an empty net.
Arsenal were rattled as Justin Kluivert went close to doubling the Cherries' lead, but Gabriel made amends six minutes later by levelling from inside the box after a mazy Noni Madueke run.
Bournemouth caused more problems until the half-time break, when Mikel Arteta put in another solid half-time team talk. Nine minutes after the restart, Martin Odegaard set up Rice with a deft pass on the edge of the box to crash home.
Rice doubled his tally after Odegaard released substitute Bukayo Saka down the right with another slick ball - with the Arsenal midfielder tapping home after his England team-mate cut it across.
But Bournemouth were not done as substitute Junior Kroupi set up a grandstand finish with a curling effort from distance.
The league leaders hurdled the late pressure - although there was controversy as referee Chris Kavanagh blew the final whistle when Bournemouth had a good crossing position after a long throw was cleared, leading to fury from the home players and fans.
Arsenal's lead sits at six on Saturday but Man City could trim it to four should Pep Guardiola's side beat managerless Chelsea on Super Sunday. Bournemouth's winless run stretches to 11 - and they could end up 16th by the end of the weekend.
WATCH: Rice's second-half double!
Arteta praises personality and presence
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta:
"I really love today the next step of the team in terms of individual personality and presence.
"I think what Gabi Magalhaes has done after making a big mistake to concede the goal. The way he reacted to that, the way he played afterwards, the way he transmitted energy after that, it was remarkable.
"And Declan was another one. Every hour for him was important to be able to be available today. We didn't know for how long, so in the manner that he competed, played and on top of that scored two goals, I think it was outstanding and a really big message for the team."
Analysis: Arsenal show they can go through the gears
Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz at the Vitality Stadium:
Arsenal win when last season they would have dropped points. It feels like that has been said a lot this season.
This was not a vintage Gunners display but they got the job done. The wheels threatened to fall off early on as Gabriel gave bogey team Bournemouth the lead. But two things stand out.
First, Arsenal's bouncebackability. Gabriel hurdled the problematic start to level the game himself in yet another example of an Arsenal player bouncing back after a mistake to score. Gabriel also did it against Fulham in 2022 and Saka did it in a separate game against the Cottagers 12 months later.
And the other key feature of Arsenal's current form is their ability to go up a gear in the second half. Rice's first against Bournemouth was the 10th goal Arsenal have scored in the first 10 minutes of the second half. They have also scored 12 times in the first 15 minutes of the second period. When things get tricky, this Arsenal team can now go up a gear or two.
Their last four league games have seen them beat Everton away, Wolves and Brighton at home and now Bournemouth away. They failed to win any of those games last season, now they have won them all.
With a huge squad available - Eberechi Eze has not come off the bench in the last four league games - how much will they win come May?
Iraola: Bournemouth are not solid at the back
Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola:
"We played better than Arsenal in the first half. But Arsenal found a better way to win the game. It's a sign we are not being efficient. Conceding three goals today is far too much.
"Probably it's not Arsenal's best game, but they find a way to win. The big teams, they find a way to win.
"We are a team that does very good things, but we are not solid at the back, When you are not solid at the back, it's very difficult."
