Bournemouth 1-2 Arsenal: Hits and Flops

Arsenal saw off a great challenge from the committed Bournemouth side as they won 2-1 in the Premier League on Sunday. The Gunners took the lead in the 29th minute, rather luckily, as Jefferson Lerma scored a spectacular own goal. The Cherries drew level on the brink of half-time when a super fast counter-attack paid dividends and Joshua King finished off the move clinically.

The Gunners were tested a lot in the closing minutes by a resilient Bournemouth side but they held their nerves and extended the unbeaten run to 17 matches. Eddie Howe’s team which had a splendid start to the season are falling off the radar after not being able to maintain a high intensity for the full 90 minutes.

We take a look at the Hits and Flops from both the sides.

---

Hit: Sokratis

The Greek defender had his work cut out against a fast Bournemouth attack. But he did keep his positional sense throughout the match and showed leadership when required.

Callum Wilson was seen as a major threat to the Gunners backline and he did make life tough for Mustafi and Holding, but every time he faced Sokratis, he was not able to keep his balance due to the sheer physical presence of Sokratis in the penalty box.

Even in the goal where Bournemouth counterattacked, it was Holding who was not able to shut shop and Sokratis was not at fault. Sokratis had a good game considering the fact that he was making a comeback of sorts in the Premier League.

It will be interesting to see who does Unai Emery pick as his preferred two at the back when all three, just like today’s match, Mustafi, Sokratis, and Holding are fit. Sokratis came into his own in the final few minutes, throwing himself at everything that comes his way.

Flop: Alex Iwobi

The Nigerian winger made life tough for the midfielders as he lost possession too often creating pressure for Xhaka and Torreira. Iwobi has been given the freedom to run at defenders by Unai Emery, but too often the Nigerian looked lost for an idea.

Iwobi has competition from Emile Smith and may be from Reiss Nelson in the coming months so he has to be more clinical than he was today.

Even in the equalizing goal that Bournemouth scored, Iwobi had a big part to play as it was his mistake on which the Bournemouth players pounced upon and started the counter-attack.

Just like his predecessor Theo Walcott, Iwobi lost composure at crucial junctures and it was punished heavily by the Cherries. Unai Emery has already spoken of the number of goals he wants from his advanced players and with just one goal in 22 matches this season, Iwobi is definitely not doing justice to that faith.

Hit: David Brooks

The Wales international is having a breakthrough season under Eddie Howe and big things are forecasted for the youngster. He was again at his very best today and created a lot of openings in the Arsenal defence.

He was unlucky to stray offside for the disallowed goal in the first half but it was marginal and could have gone either way. His presence in and around the Arsenal penalty box gave the defenders a lot of trouble.

The assist for Joshua King’s equalizer was a well-given pass with a lot of vision as Brooks could have made space for a shot himself but his selfless play gave Bournemouth some hope in the match.

David Brooks has a great future ahead of him if he plays more under Eddie Howe who has understood his best position and role. Brooks can be the assist man for Bournemouth who have got some good attacking talent in Wilson and King.

Flop: Jefferson Lerma

This was a unanimous choice at the end of the match. Lerma’s own goal in the first half was an unlucky one but then that’s what defenders are rated for at the end of the day. Lerma tried hard to bring Bournemouth back into the game with some splendid runs but his first-half mistake cost the Cherries dearly and they never really recovered from that.

And if the goal was not enough, he gave a cheap free-kick which resulted in Arsenal's second goal and it left us with no choice but to pick Lerma for the flop category. A day of regret for the Colombian but it happens to the best of defenders.

Everyone saw what David Luiz went through in yesterday’s match against the Spurs. Its all about how soon he recovers from the horrific day. Lerma probably had the best chance to equalize for Bournemouth when his long drive hit the far post.