Bournemouth vs. Arsenal: Score, Reaction from 2016 Premier League Game

Arsenal returned to their winning ways on Sunday, beating Bournemouth 2-0 in Week 25 of the 2015-16 Premier League campaign.

Two quick goals from Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the first half gave the Gunners the advantage, and Arsene Wenger's men played out the second half with maturity, giving the Cherries few chances to get back in the match.

The win halts a four-match slide for the Gunners and moves them back into the top three of the Premier League standings, just five points below the leaders, Leicester City. 

As shared by Arsenal's official Twitter account, Gabriel Paulista and Laurent Koscielny formed the central partnership, while Francis Coquelin made the bench for the Gunners:

The match nearly started in disaster for the Gunners, as some clumsy defending forced Petr Cech to race off his line and nick the ball away just before Benik Afobe could get to it.

Arsenal soon found their groove and took control of the ball, however, and Aaron Ramsey saw a shot blocked from a promising position after seven minutes. Bournemouth pressed high up the pitch, and Afobe made life hard on the Gunners defenders, but it didn't lead to any major chances.

Alexis Sanchez found himself on the end of a great ball over the top but was shocked it even made it to him. He couldn't get his touch right, missing the target with his volley.

Two goals in quick succession turned the match on its head midway through the first half, as Ozil and Oxlade-Chamberlain found the back of the net less than two minutes apart. First, Olivier Giroud did well to find Ozil, who arrived late in the box and produced a clinical finish to get the ball past goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

TV personality Piers Morgan loved it:

Just 88 seconds later, the Gunners doubled their lead. Aaron Ramsey played in Oxlade-Chamberlain, who pulled the ball wide before sliding it across the goal and into the far corner.

Bleacher Report UK's Sam Tighe thought it was a neat finish:

The quick double completely broke the match open, as the Cherries had no intention of sitting back and taking time to recover. Harry Arter let loose with a powerful drive from long range, forcing Cech into another strong save. Marc Pugh then took the ball from Gabriel, and Hector Bellerin had to use his blinding pace to deny the midfielder a sure goal.

Arsenal didn't let their sudden advantage spoil the game plan and reverted back to possession-based tactics, working the ball around slowly and frustrating the home side. As a result, the pace of the match dropped slightly, and Bournemouth were unable to put together any more good chances.

The final chance of the first half fell to the hosts, but once again, Cech used smart positional play to block a shot from Adam Smith. BT Sport's Ian Darke thought the Cherries treated the Gunners with too much respect:

The Cherries seemed more determined to attack Arsenal head-on coming out of half-time, and early in the second half, Bournemouth dominated proceedings. Smith struck the side netting with a good effort, right after Matt Ritchie wildly blasted a shot over the bar.

Their attacking intentions opened Bournemouth up to the counterattack, and only a miscommunication between Sanchez and Giroud prevented Arsenal from scoring a third goal. The Frenchman anticipated a cut back and stopped his run, just as Sanchez tried to play him in.

Arsenal did a fantastic job of sucking all of the pace and momentum out of the match, and there were few chances of note during the second half. The hosts reverted to firing crosses into the box as much as possible, and per Squawka Football, that didn't accomplish much:

Afobe left the pitch with 13 minutes left to play, and with him, Bournemouth's final hopes of completing a comeback seemed to vanish. Joshua King claimed a penalty in the final minutes, but he didn't get his wish. Ramsey could have added a third in injury time, but it didn't matter, as Cech produced a final double-save to preserve the clean sheet and the win.

Bleacher Report's Dean Jones shared his winners and losers of this match, highlighting Mathieu Flamini as someone who could have cost the Gunners the win:

The win sees Arsenal leap over Manchester City in the Premier League standings and move within five points of leaders Leicester City, with the two teams set to meet Sunday, Feb. 14. Bournemouth will host Stoke City in Week 26.  

Post-Match Reaction

As shared by the Premier League's official Twitter account, Wenger knew his team's confidence would be affected by their poor form, as he said: "Our recent record was on our mind, of course, so our confidence wasn't at the maximum level."

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