Odegaard finds his shooting boots as Gunners’ winning start continues on the south coast

Bournemouth 0 Arsenal 3 
Premier League 
Saturday 20th August 2022 5.30pm   

Mikel Arteta fielded an unchanged starting eleven for the third game in a row, in spite of a suspicion that Tomiyasu might come in for Ben White at right back. Still, why change a winning team? That decision looked fully justified when a blistering start that saw two goals scored in the opening 11 minutes – both from captain Odegaard. 

The first was all about Gabriel Jesus – beating three men before slipping through his compatriot Martinelli whose shot was parried out to the Arsenal skipper to slot home. Not long after, the build up came on the other side, with Saka and Ben White combining well before a ball across the box saw it teed up for a shot by Jesus before allowing Odegaard to beat him to the finishing touch. His strike was clean and unstoppable. The Norwegian has not contributed as many goals as could reasonably expected from a player in his position – and he’s certainly found areas in the box where he has had opportunities to get on the scoresheet more. Hopefully this is the shape of things to come.

There was a slight moment of worry soon after as White was careless with a back pass , but with the aid of William Saliba, the danger was nullified. It was an opening 45 minutes of almost total dominance – Bournemouth didn't even really get a sniff of goal. 

The home team restarted with a couple of subs and more goal threat, but nothing seriously worrying. Aaron Ramsdale had his customary moment of madness as he misconnected with a goal kick, but as also seems the norm this season, got away with it as the resulting attempt on his goal was way off target.

It was 3-0 not long after with a sumptuous strike from William Saliba, on his supposedly weaker left foot, into the top corner after being teed up by Granit Xhaka. Scott Parker tried to keep Fulham up a couple of seasons back with no joy, and you feel that this campaign is going to be one long relegation battle for them already, although they have at least registered a win in their opening three matches. It was almost 4-0 after 70 minutes, but a few millimetres determined a nicely worked goal for Gabriel was chalked off. There is talk of a daylight rule between the last defender and the attacking player being introduced – the sooner the better in my view. Having said that the second Arsenal goal was equally marginal, and if you look at the way the lines were drawn on the television, I am far from convinced this is an exact science. The lines seem parallel with the six yard line, whereas the edge of the box seems irrelevant. I’m no mathematician, but the angle of the line (which looks wrong) favored Ben White.

Still, sometimes these things go for you. Three changes were made after the chalking off of the offside goal, which as Tomiyasu, Nketiah and Smith Rowe were given some gametime. The changes did not seem to lift the team, as two chances for the home side were the next significant action, with Ramsdale pulling off an excellent save for the second. Arsenal had their own chances to make it four with Jesus and Nketiah both foiled by the Bournemouth keeper before the game was up. A clean sheet was ensured by an injury time save by Ramsdale, denying a Keiffer Moore header for a second time.

This is what Arsenal should be doing – beating promoted teams home and away. Tony Adams used to say that if you win all of your games against the bottom 10, you pretty much win the league, although in these days of the high 90s points tallies that might not still be the case. Still – 60 points from 20 games certainly guarantees CL football, and it’s something to aspire to. On early form, I’d say both Leicester and Bournemouth will be bottom 10 sides. Palace I am not so sure, emphasizing the achievement of the win at Selhurst Park. Time will indicate how much Arsenal benefited from the pre-season disruption encountered by Patrick Vieira’s side. 

Back to the Vitality Stadium, and Arsenal’s football is full of that at present. A polar opposite to last season’s start. Three games and zero points in 2021-22, although the opposition in 2021 was stiffer for two of the three matches, and there were mitigating factors for the opener at Brentford. Arsenal did recover to give them a great chance of a top four place, but blew it due a lack of depth.

There’s no question that Jesus, Zinchenko and Saliba have brought something extra to the team, as Aubameyang, Lacazette, Tavares and Mari have made their way through the out door (albeit on loan in the case of the last two). The picture looks a lot brighter, the only area where you could argue better backup is required being the central midfield position – specifically the injury-prone Thomas Partey. Currently Elneny is the obvious replacement. Let’s see if Arsenal can resolve that before the current transfer window shuts. 

Their next three matches are all in the Premier League – against Fulham, Villa and Manchester United. Then the Europa League starts, meaning midweek matches and Sunday games in the run up until the World Cup Finals carve a chunk out of the season. With the first two of those games at home, it would be disappointing not to go to Old Trafford with maximum points. Certainly with the three wins so far, it feels like Arsenal have done the hard stuff in their opening fixtures, with two away wins. Early days (Spurs were in the same position a year ago under Nuno Espirito Santo), but plenty of cause for optimism.

Finally to mention the passing of Steve Braddock, the groundsman responsible for turning Highbury into the wonderful playing surface it became once he had the opportunity to replace the pitch completely after the 1988-89 season. There is a nice interview with him here from nine years ago on the Arsenal website. Difficult to believe he was only 58, because it meant he was actually given the job in his early 20s. Rest in peace.

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