Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit his eighth Premier League goal of the season to earn Arsenal a hard-fought win at Bournemouth.
By Mark Mann-Bryans, Press Association Sport
November 25 2018 3:28 PM
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit his eighth Premier League goal of the season to earn Arsenal a hard-fought win at Bournemouth.
The Gunners had drawn their last three league games but Aubameyang’s second-half strike was enough to extend their unbeaten run to 17 matches in all competitions.
Jefferson Lerma scored a remarkable volleyed own goal to give the visitors the lead at the Vitality Stadium, with Joshua King levelling for Bournemouth before Aubameyang scored to seal a 2-1 victory.
Unai Emery sprung a tactical surprise by starting with a three-man defence, the first time the Arsenal head coach has opted for such a system in the league since his appointment.
It paid off as Sead Kolasinac, playing as a wing-back, laid on both Arsenal goals as they moved to within a point of Chelsea in fourth place.
Alexandre Lacazette missed out with a tight groin, while the change in system meant Mesut Ozil was only among the Arsenal substitutes.
The hosts thought they were ahead early on but David Brooks was flagged offside as he slotted home King’s through ball.
Arsenal went up the other end and Lucas Torreira rattled the foot of the post with an arrowed shot, with Alex Iwobi only able to lash the rebound high and wide.
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Bournemouth were certainly the better side as the visitors struggled to adapt to a new formation, with Callum Wilson heading at Leno as the Cherries continued to push for the opener.
King’s pace was causing problems for the recalled Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who was shown a yellow card for hauling the Bournemouth man to the ground on the edge of the penalty box.
