Declan Rice shrugged off a knee injury to extend Arsenal’s advantage at the top of the Premier League to six points with a come-from-behind 3-2 win at Bournemouth.
A rare Gabriel Magalhaes error gifted the Cherries an early opener through Evanilson on Saturday, but the Brazilian quickly redeemed himself to level.
“We made it harder for ourselves with the first goal,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “[But] I love the character of the team and the character of Gabi [Magalhaes]. We have grown over the years.”
Rice had been a doubt after missing Tuesday’s 4-1 demolition of Aston Villa due to knee swelling.
The England international returned to the starting lineup and doubled his tally for the season with two composed finishes either side of the hour mark.
Eli Kroupi’s fine strike gave Bournemouth hope, but Arsenal comfortably saw out the closing stage to move seven points clear of Manchester City, who host the managerless Chelsea in their game in hand on Sunday.
There had been a glimmer of hope for Pep Guardiola’s men when Arsenal conceded after just 10 minutes.
Gabriel mishit his attempted cross-field pass towards Jurrien Timber and presented the ball to his compatriot Evanilson, who slotted past David Raya for his first home goal of the season.
Arsenal’s towering centre-back netted on his first start for nearly two months against Villa in midweek, and showed his eye for goal once more to equalise within six minutes.
Gabriel pounced to slam home Noni Madueke’s deflected cross for his 20th Premier League goal since he joined the Gunners in 2020 – seven more than any other defender.
Rice has also turned into a useful source of important goals since being pushed into a more advanced role this season.
He was perfectly picked out by Martin Odegaard to slot in from the edge of the box to put the visitors in front on 56 minutes.
Bukayo Saka came off the bench to create Arsenal’s third as Rice swept home his cut-back.
“With the attacking threat that they have, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Rice said after.
“To pick up the three points after not the best first half from us means it is a big win.
“The main thing is three points and keep building momentum.”
Bournemouth remain without a win, stretching back 11 games to October 26.
However, only five sides have scored more Premier League goals this season than Andoni Iraola’s men.
A stunning strike by Kropi from long range set up a nervy finale.
But Arteta’s men held firm to take another big step towards ending their 22-year wait to lift the Premier League title.