by Arsenal secured a stunning comeback win when they were 2-0 down at home to Bournemouth, but won 3-2 thanks to a Reiss Nelson goal with the last kick of the game.
This game will take some beating for drama and sheer mayhem, with the Gunners maintaining their five-point lead at the top of the table.
Philip Billing scored after just nine seconds (the second fastest goal in Premier League history) to give Bournemouth a dream start, and Marcos Senesi made it 2-0 early in the half as the Cherries were in dreamland.
But then Arsenal hit back as Thomas Partey and Ben White scored in quick succession to set up a grandstand finish.
It looked like Arsenal would have to settle for a draw, but substitute Nelson smashed home a stunner to spark wild scenes at the Emirates.
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Mikel Arteta’s side maintain their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points over second-placed Manchester City as they sit on 63 points. Bournemouth remain on 21 points and on the relegation zone.
Fate is heavy in the air as Arsenal secured an incredible comeback win
The way Arsenal’s players, fans and staff celebrated when Reiss Nelson’s thunderbolt flew in feels like a moment title-winning teams have. 2-0 down with 28 minutes remaining to relegation-haunted Bournemouth, all signs indicated that this was not Arsenal’s day. But with 12 games to go, there is a sense of destiny about this Gunners team. They fought back to win late on at Aston Villa recently and have scored more 90th-minute winners (three) than any other Premier League team this season. After falling behind with just nine seconds on the clock, they dominated the rest of this game and although this was atrocious against Bournemouth, they can’t complain about losing. Substitute work with Ben White and Reiss Nelson both scoring, all playing in (they have 14 different goalscorers which is more than any other PL team this season) and the reaction to losing to Man City in February has been incredible with four straight winning in all comes in very different ways. Mikel Arteta and this young Arsenal squad are both developing into a hungry, nasty winning machine, and the Gunners have an aura of destiny swirling around them right now.
Mikel Arteta: “When it’s ugly and when it’s difficult, that’s what great teams do”
“It was madness from the first second,” Arteta told the BBC’s Match of the Day. – We continued to try and dominate the match. We had a mountain to climb and we took it bit by bit. We were hungry for the first goal. From then on, the atmosphere changed. Reiss Nelson hasn’t been around much because he’s been injured. He comes on and does that show. It was incredible to experience the feeling with the audience. It’s going to stick with us. I will remember this day for a few things. I loved their initiative, courage, personality and the way they made things happen. When it’s ugly and when it’s difficult, that’s what great teams do. We have to make it easier for ourselves. But this is the Premier League. The opponents are good and they make it difficult for you. Now we have the Europa League – many games to come. We’re going to need everyone at their best.”
Stars of the show; Arsenal vs Bournemouth player ratings
Thomas Partey: Driven Arsenal forward from midfield and popped up with a terrific goal to start the comeback.
Philip Billing: Scored the early goal and put Bournemouth ahead when they countered.
Oleksandr Zinchenko: Looked calmly on the ball at key moments and never stopped trying to find a forward pass.
What will be next?
Arsenal travel to Sporting Lisbon on Thursday to play in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie and then to Fulham on Sunday. Bournemouth host Liverpool on Saturday.
How to watch Arsenal vs Bournemouth live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 10am ET, Saturday
TV Channel: Peacock
Online: Stream via Peacock Premium
FULL TIME – Arsenal 3-2 Bournemouth: Fantastic scenes at the Emirates. Everyone from an Arsenal perspective is going berserk. It was horrible against Bournemouth, but Arsenal were clearly the better team. They found a way to make it happen. Wow. Just WOW.
TARGET! THEY HAVE DONE IT. Reiss Nelson smashes home the game’s missing kick. They have done it. The fans, the staff and the players go wild. Arsenal 3-2 Bournemouth.
Gabriel Martinelli fires just over. Bournemouth has run out of steam here.
GOAL! Ben White made it 2-2. His shot is over the line. Chaos. Arsenal 2-2 Bournemouth. Plenty of time for Arsenal to get a winner here.
TARGET! Thomas Partey withdraws one. It says 2-1. He pops up at the back post to finish after Emile Smith Rowe’s header. 28 minutes left. Buckle up.
GOAL! 2-0 to Bournemouth. Marcos Senesi finishes on a corner. Nightmare for Arsenal. Absolute scenes away from home.
Bournemouth are doing well so far. Arsenal get frustrated.
The second half is underway. Can Arsenal find a couple of goals to turn this around? They certainly will.
BREAK – Arsenal 0-1 Bournemouth: An incredible start to this match, as Billings’ goal after nine seconds put the Cherries ahead. Arsenal have had a lot of the ball, but have not been able to create great chances, and Bournemouth have almost scored again on the counter. What a huge team talk, and 45 minutes, coming up for Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal are pushing hard for an equalizer before the break. Bournemouth keep going.
Handball calls and VAR checks for a possible Arsenal penalty, but the ball hit the upper arm and shoulder area of Chris Mepham as he missed his header in the box. A nervous moment for Bournemouth but no penalty awarded.
Leandro Trossard limps off and Emile Smith Rowe comes on. Great to see ESR back in action after so long out with injury. Trossard has been excellent in recent weeks so it’s a blow for Arsenal.
SAVE!!! What a great stop by Aaron Ramsdale. Bournemouth were clean through after a brilliant counterattack, but Ramsdale ran off the pitch to block Ouattra’s shot. Arsenal fans sing Ramsdale’s name loud and proud.
A reminder, although that goal was ridiculously quick, it’s not the fastest goal in Premier League history. Shane Long holds that record from a few years back for Southampton against Watford. He scored just over seven seconds in.
SAVE! Brilliant double stop from Neto to deny Martin Odegaard and then Bukayo Saka’s return. Arsenal have responded well to the huge shock.
TARGET! INCREDIBLE. Bournemouth 1-0 up with just 9 (NINE) seconds on the clock. Billing sweeps home a cross and Arsenal can’t believe it. Arteta looks stunned. Bournemouth tried something very strange from the kick-off with everyone lined up on one side and they played it to the other and scored. Wow. Who would have predicted this start?
