- Gunners top of the table
- Ozil with goal and assist
- Cech gets record 170th clean sheet
After an uninspired defeat to Southampton on Boxing Day, Arsenal got back on track with a solid performance against Bournemouth on Monday, leaving the Emirates with all three points after a 2-0 win.
The win saw Petr Cech get his 170th clean sheet, the most ever by a Premier League goalkeeper.
Mesut Ozil put in another brilliant display, grabbing a goal and an assist as the Gunners now sit top of the table, one point ahead of Leicester City. Leicester has one game in hand.
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Aresene Wenger made four changes to his side that lost to Southampton, one key move being Gabriel coming into the defense for Laurent Koscielny.
Those changes paid off, as Gabriel put Arsenal ahead in the 27th minute. Mesut Ozil’s corner kick found the head of Gabriel, who took advantage of some poor defending from Bournemouth to walk past his mark and head home from close range. It was the Brazilian’s first goal for the Gunners, and Ozil’s 16th assist of the season.
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Arsenal should have scored off another corner, as it was Ozil to Gabriel again. Gabriel’s header hit the post and redirected off the face of an unsuspecting Per Mertesacker, who had no time to react and saw his inadvertent deflection go wide.
9 - Since Aug 2004, only 7 players have created more chances in a single match than the 9 @MesutOzil1088 laid on for team-mates today. Craft
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 28, 2015
Bournemouth showed more intent moving forward early after the break, but it was Arsenal who found the game’s second goal in the 63rd minute. A counter-attack from the right wing found Mesut Ozil, who linked up beautifully with Oliver Giroud to put the Gunners ahead 2-0. Ozil weaved through a group of Cherries defenders, taking a clever flick from Giroud and slotting it through the keeper’s legs to double the Arsenal lead.
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After the second goal, the Gunners saw the match out comfortably in a necessary win for the club. Bournemouth’s unbeaten run was snapped at six matches.