Mesut Özil inspires as Arsenal get back to winning ways

Arsenal 2 Bournemouth 0

This time, Arsenal did make it to the summit of the Premier League. The lead may not last beyond Tuesday night, when Leicester City would return to the top with a home win over Manchester City but, for 24 hours at least, Arsène Wenger and his players can savour the view.

They had fluffed their lines in the 4-0 Boxing Day drubbing at Southampton but there was reassurance here against a Bournemouth team that looked tidy enough but lacked ruthlessness at both ends.

It is now 22 matches since Arsenal lost to a newly promoted team and once Gabriel had punished slack marking from a 28th-minute Mesut Özil corner to score his first Arsenal goal since joining them in January, the die felt cast.

Wenger’s team had too much savvy and at a relatively subdued Emirates Stadium, where the home fans were clearly expecting victory, they got the job done. They might even have won by more because they created further chances. Per Mertesacker could not finish from point-blank range and there was a period towards the end of the first-half when Bournemouth went to pieces on defensive corners.

Eddie Howe's team had decent spells of possession but they could not create anything of clear-cut note and Petr Cech reached his heavily signposted milestone as the Premier League's clean sheet king without needing to make a serious save. Cech has now surpassed David James' record of 169 shut-outs.

Özil ran the show and he scored the second himself with an ice-cool side-foot finish, following Olivier Giroud’s lovely flicked assist. It is getting to the stage when the Player of the Season awards begin to be discussed and Özil has to be a contender.

The opening goal had not really been advertised and it was Bournemouth who were the more comfortable team in the early exchanges. Yet Howe could curse as his defenders switched off from Özil’s corner to present Gabriel with the opportunity that he gleefully seized.

Gabriel’s free header into the top corner was marked by a precision that was momentarily absent in the visitors’ ranks – it was Charlie Daniels who let him go – and, rather abruptly, the feel of the occasion changed. Previously, there had been a few grumbles from the home supporters. Afterwards, they could relax.

It was Özil’s 16th assist of the Premier League season – a phenomenal return – and the Arsenal playmaker drew the eye whenever he went near the ball. The fear factor he carries is tangible and Bournemouth certainly felt it.

Before Gabriel’s goal, Özil had teed up Theo Walcott twice; on the second occasion, Walcott had to spin and execute a close-range volley – a difficult skill – and he failed to fashion a meaningful contact. And after the breakthrough, Özil set about turning the screw.

Scanning the spaces in front of him for any hint of an opening, Özil fizzed his passes with a killer instinct. There were two more for Walcott before the end of the first-half, with the forward twice denied by Artur Boruc and there was also his threat from corners, which was revealed as Bournemouth’s achilles’ heel.

Howe’s team failed to cope with Gabriel’s runs and Arsenal were inches from extending their lead in the 34th minute. Gabriel got the run on his markers once again from an Özil corner and his flicked header beat Boruc only to rebound off the far post.

Mertesacker was on hand with the goal at his mercy but the ball flew back at him with too much speed and he could not adjust in time. It seemed a case of the ball hitting his head rather than any attacking intent by the defender and it squirmed the wrong side of the post.

Remarkably, there were three more Özil corners before the interval that sparked panic in Bournemouth defence and, on the third one, from another Gabriel flick-on, Aaron Ramsey almost got in at the far post. Gabriel was one of four Arsenal changes from the Southampton game, coming in for Laurent Koscielny and he could reflect on a fine individual performance. Calum Chambers, brought in to play in a defensive midfield position, was also polished.

Howe had changed only two players from the 0-0 draw at home to Crystal Palace on Boxing Day and his team demonstrated their comfort on the ball. Their confidence stemmed from the six-game unbeaten sequence that they had brought to north London and there was never the feeling that this would be the home banker of old.

But Bournemouth struggled for cutting edge and it was here that Özil made the difference. His goal was a beauty and it saw him play a couple of one-twos on his way into the area for the one-on-one with Boruc.

The second was with Giroud and the striker’s return flick was marked by the highest quality. It took out three Bournemouth defenders and Özil barely had to break stride, although he gives the impression that he never does that anyway. He took one touch before opening up his body to stroke home his fifth goal of the season.

And that was pretty much that. Arsenal threatened the third through Walcott, Giroud and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain but they had made their statement.

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