Arsenal rout Bournemouth as Havertz breaks his duck

Bournemouth 0 Arsenal 4   
Premier League   
Saturday 30th September 2023 3pm    

This is the kind of display we need to be seeing more often from Arsenal against teams in the bottom half of the Premier League table. They won convincingly and easily against a team that has a tendency to pick up unpredictable points and occasionally prove a thorn in the side. In their six previous Premier League visits to the Vitality, Arsenal have failed to win three times. 

 

Mikel Arteta made only one change in his selection from the North London Derby the previous weekend, preferring Kai Havertz to Fabio Vieira, although there were question marks over the latter’s fitness in the build-up to the game. It was consistency in selection that proved a big plus for the team last season, and with familiarity, hopefully we will see the best of Havertz going forward. Declan Rice was another potential injury doubt after having to be subbed at half time last Sunday, and his return was excellent news. He has adapted to the requirements of the team far more quickly than Havertz in terms of understanding, influence, and contribution. Defensively, it has to be said that the German has proved very useful at set pieces and is often the man to clear crosses from corners as the ball reaches the six-yard box. 

 

Aaron Ramsdale’s impressive display in the League Cup during the week was not enough to convince the manager to replace David Raya, so it does look like the previous first choice keeper is going to have to spend much of the coming season on the bench. If you are going to raise levels, you want competition for every place and quality options to allow for injury, fatigue, suspension, and the African Cup of Nations. So, this is going to happen with sentiment going out of the window. As it was his defence played so well that Raya had a fairly quiet afternoon in terms of needing to make many saves. When Bournemouth did get shots away, they tended to be either high or wide. 

 

The visitors were helped by a goal before 20 minutes had been played, forcing Bournemouth to try and get parity. A cross from Odegaard went past the far post where Gabriel, playing on the left side of attack, headed the ball against the post. The rebound went across the face of the goal and an easy header for Saka put his side one up. For the most part, Arsenal controlled the ball, as they generally do against this level of opposition, and looked comfortable. The home support was very muted, and could likely sense the inevitability of defeat after the Saka goal. 

 

The next two were both spot kicks. The rotation policy on these continued as Odegaard took the first one. We’ve got used to the player holding the ball not being the taker this season, one imagines to take any heat from opposition players and allow the actual taker to get into the right mental space without distraction. The Arsenal skipper converted - not long before half time. The kick was awarded for a foul on Eddie Nketiah, whose pace proved too much for his marker. 

 

So, a very feelgood interval for the loud and ebullient away support, which only got louder in the second half. This was partly due to a first Kai Havertz goal for Arsenal, after Odegaard was brought down for another penalty in the first ten minutes. Havertz was instructed to take the resulting spot kick, with slightly less pressure given the scoreline and the nature of the game. He made it 3-0 and you could see the team spirit in the joy of his colleagues when celebrating his first Gunners’ goal. A new chant rang out in the away section for Havertz, to the tune of the 2010 World Cup song. ‘Waka Waka’ by Shakira. For those that couldn’t make out the words on TV or YouTube, it goes…
Tsamina mina, eh, eh
Waka waka, eh, eh

60 million down the drain
Kai Havertz scores again

It went on for about 10 minutes and was something to be a part of.

 

By this time, the first half clouds had cleared and the sun shone symbolically into the away section, with the points secure. Injury time saw a headed goal for Ben White from an Odegaard free kick. I noticed after the game that the players – in their appreciation of the supporters – don’t come as close to the fans as they used to, and there’s no more throwing of shirts into the crowd. Hopefully, this will mean the end of the ‘Saka – can I have your shirt please?’ cardboard signs, and a bit of me wonders if this is something to do with the Kroenkes’ love of cost cutting. These things can be washed and re-used after all. Who knows?

 

No matter, the points are more important and the connection with the supporters is healthy, as witnessed by the fact that fans have not been getting on Havertz’s back during matches, even if some might have done so online and in the pub. Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp took a few games to score their first goal for the club after all, and that didn’t turn out too badly. Who cares that it was a penalty?

 

Results elsewhere provided more joy with both Manchester clubs suffering defeat. The ideal result for the Gunners between Spurs and Liverpool would probably have been a draw, but the noisy neighbours certainly enjoyed a heavy dollop of fortune in taking the three points as the officiating at the Lane and Stockley Park was woeful, the denied ‘offside’ Liverpool goal and Jota’s first yellow card being the worst examples. In the long term, it may be the best result for Arsenal. Spurs have enjoyed a huge amount of luck in certain matches this season, and the law of averages suggests that cannot continue. Liverpool are more likely to be in contention for the title come next spring, although Spurs do of course have a lot of free midweeks to work on the training ground. Time will tell.

 

What is without question is that if Arsenal can beat Manchester City at home next weekend, they will go ahead of the holders in the table. Yes, the Gunners’ record against City under Guardiola is woeful, and at times, unlucky. Time for a statement win and then we know that the club are really in business to mount another challenge for a long-awaited league title. 

 

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