Arsenal vs Bournemouth LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction after Reiss Nelson’s last-minute winner
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Arsenal survived a massive scare in their pursuit of the Premier League title as they came back from two goals down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 with a last-gasp winner from Reiss Nelson, in a rip-roaring contest in north London on Saturday.
Relegation-threatened Bournemouth scored the second-quickest Premier League goal of all time after nine seconds of play through Philip Billing, and despite Arsenal’s domination, Marcos Senesi made it 2-0 for the visitors before the hour.
But then began an Arsenal comeback that could prove a pivotal moment in the title race.
Thomas Partey prodded a shot past Bournemouth keeper Neto just past the hour mark, and eight minutes later substitute Ben White’s volley crossed the line despite Neto’s desperate dive.
With the Emirates Stadium crowd roaring their side on it appeared Bournemouth had held on for a precious point in their fight against relegation, but substitute Nelson’s sensational strike seven minutes into stoppage time sealed a remarkable win. Arsenal restored their five-point lead over Manchester City, who had won earlier, with 63 points from 26 games.
Arsenal vs AFC Bournemouth
Despite Bournemouth's heavy loss to City last week, boss O'Neil spoke about their performance in glowing terms, and he makes just two changes – both seemingly enforced. Key duo Hamed Traore and Jefferson Lerma are absent from the matchday squad, so Semenyo and Rothwell come in.
Arsenal vs AFC Bournemouth
Mikel Arteta makes three changes to the side which routed Everton, as Tomiyasu, Vieira and Partey come in. White, Jorginho and Xhaka drop to the bench, where Arsenal are without a recognised striker after Eddie Nketiah joined Gabriel Jesus on the sidelines. Trossard will operate as a false nine again for the Gunners.
Arsenal vs AFC Bournemouth
BOURNEMOUTH SUBS: Mark Travers, Darren Randolph, Ryan Fredericks, Lewis Cook, Ryan Christie, Jack Stacey, Kieffer Moore, Jaidon Anthony, Euan Pollock.
Arsenal vs AFC Bournemouth
BOURNEMOUTH (3-4-3): Neto; Chris Mepham, Jack Stephens, Marcos Senesi; Adam Smith, Joe Rothwell, Philip Billing, Jordan Zemura; Dango Ouattara, Dominic Solanke, Antoine Semenyo.
Arsenal vs AFC Bournemouth
ARSENAL SUBS: Matt Turner, Kieran Tierney, Ben White, Emile Smith Rowe, Jakub Kiwior, Rob Holding, Jorginho, Reiss Nelson, Granit Xhaka.
Arsenal vs AFC Bournemouth
ARSENAL (4-3-3): Aaron Ramsdale; Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Fabio Vieira, Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard; Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli.
Arsenal vs AFC Bournemouth
Bournemouth, meanwhile, are in desperate need of points as they battle for survival. While Gary O'Neil's Cherries won their last away game 1-0 at Wolves, they were brought back down to earth by last week's 4-1 loss at home to City. Bournemouth approach this game one point adrift of safety, and a surprise win could see them leapfrog relegation rivals Everton, Leeds United and West Ham, as well as go level with Wolves and Leicester City.
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