Arsenal Cruise Past Bournemouth Courtesy of Danny Welbeck Brace

Arsenal defeated Bournemouth 3-0 on Saturday to move up to eighth in the Premier League standings with their first win in three matches.

England striker Danny Welbeck enjoyed a man-of-the-match performance for the hosts, bundling home the opener before teeing up Alexandre Lacazette for a second and completing his brace early in the second half.

The Gunners may have yet to claim a point away from home this season but remain undefeated at the Emirates Stadium, although back-to-back fixtures against Cologne and Chelsea on Thursday and Sunday, respectively, will test them.

Following back-to-back defeats away from home, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was in need of a strong display on Saturday in front of the Emirates Stadium crowd, and his players obliged with their best outing yet.

Bournemouth were miles off the pace in the first half and failed to even register a shot on target over the course of the opening 45 minutes, per Squawka:

Sead Kolasinac has swiftly established himself as a fan favourite in north London, and only six minutes passed before he notched his second assist of the term as Welbeck clumsily shouldered in the opener.

The home side's second had far more guile about it, though, as Welbeck exchanged smartly near the edge of the box with Lacazette, who earned the applause of Goal's Chris Wheatley with his finish into the top-right corner:

Two goals to the good and Arsenal already looked to be cruising at the break, but the hosts' dominion over the fixture only developed further after the restart, with the Cherries lacking much cohesion in attack or defence.

Having scored early in the opening period, Arsenal took the initiative after the restart, too, and worked the ball to Welbeck on the left through Aaron Ramsey, and the Englishman zipped his shot inside the far post to end a drought of braces, per Sky Sports Statto:

The Gunners came back from three goals down to steal a 3-3 draw in their journey to Bournemouth in January, but there was no sign of any such revival on the Cherries' behalf this time around.

Manager Eddie Howe has formed a reputation as one of the more capable English managers in the Premier League of late, but FourFourTwo's Kristan Heneage voiced concerns for his side as they were handled so convincingly:

Bournemouth posed slightly more threat when summer signing Nathan Ake moved closer to the midfield. However, it spoke volumes of Arsenal's ease that they still looked comfortable finishing the game with 10 men, having used all their substitutes before Francis Coquelin came off late with what looked like a hamstring injury.

For the first time this season, Arsenal had the look of title contenders, although an uninspired Bournemouth display suggests they'll put the celebrations on hold for the time being.

Wenger's men open their UEFA Europa League campaign at home to Cologne on Thursday, three days prior to their London derby meeting against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

It's during these closely packed fixture schedules that Arsenal will be tested as a top-class side, and Saturday's showing hints they're moving in the right direction.