Goals from Gabriel and Mesut Ozil saw Arsenal bounce back to winning ways and move to the top of the Premier League table with a 2-0 win over Bournemouth.
This really could've been another potential festive banana skin for the Gunners as not only were they coming into the game on the back of a 4-0 hammering at Southampton, but Bournemouth looked set to be tough opponents. The Cherries were unbeaten in six games prior to this match, including victories over Manchester United and Chelsea, so it was obvious that they shouldn't be underestimated and had the ability to pile more misery on us. Instead, we equipped ourselves well and the king of assists Ozil once again proved to be the hero for Arsenal.
Although Ozil deserves a lot of the credit, a special mention should also be given to Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech, who broke the Premier League clean-sheet record with the 170th of his career in England's top flight.
It was a positive evening for the hosts but it doesn't fully make up for the horror show they produced at Southampton on Boxing Day and there is still plenty of work to be done if we are to lift the Premier League trophy in May. But for now at least we can enjoy being top of the table! Arsenal's lead at the top may only be temporary as if Leicester beat Manchester City the Foxes will take over at the summit. But should Claudio Ranieri's men fail to win then the Gunners will hold onto top spot at the end of 2015.
Bournemouth tested Cech via Josh King's curling effort but it was Arsenal who opened the scoring when Gabriel headed home Ozil's pinpoint corner after 27 minutes.
Ozil continued to pull the strings and soon picked out Theo Walcott with an excellent pass, only for the England forward's effort to be deflected wide for a corner. From the resulting set-piece Gabriel's header hit a post before the rebound hit Per Mertesacker in the face and somehow bounced just wide.
Walcott came close to doubling the Gunners' advantage before the break when he latched onto another fine Ozil pass, but Bournemouth goalkeeper Artur Boruc reacted well to block the shot.
Bournemouth had a chance to level the scores in the early stages of the second half as substitute Junior Stanislas beat the offside trap and raced through on goal. The Bournemouth forward took slightly too long on the ball, allowing Gabriel time to slide in to block any potential shot from coming in.
That ended up proving costly for the Cherries as Arsenal doubled their lead through Ozil after 63 minutes. The German played a neat one-two with Olivier Giroud before controlling the ball with his chest and coolly slotting the ball under Boruc.
Walcott came close to adding a third goal for Arsenal but his shot went across the face of goal and agonisingly wide. Walcott had an even better chance soon after when Boruc failed to keep hold of Giroud's effort, but the England man scuffed the rebound wide. Luckily for Walcott his blushes were spared as the flag had already been raised for offside.
At the other end, Cech didn't have too much to do to ensure he broke David James' clean sheet record, although he was forced into a routine save from Matt Ritchie's long-range strike.
Arsenal really should have added the icing on the cake with a third goal but Giroud scuffed an effort wide before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's shot hit a post.
Cech got his fingers to Glenn Murray's effort in stoppage time to ensure a record breaking night for himself and a clean sheet for the new league leaders Arsenal.
There was still time for Arsenal to try and get another goal and it looked like they might get it when Ozil picked out Walcott with another sublime pass, but Boruc spread himself well to block the shot.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Regardless of the defeat for Bournemouth, their story is nothing short of remarkable. To come from nearly losing their place in the Football League to being in England's top flight is a tremendous achievement and their manager, Eddie Howe, has done one hell of a job. I once interviewed Howe and must say he is such a top bloke and he really has done the Cherries proud during his time at the club.
Bournemouth fan Ella Jennings is proud of her side despite the result and hopes they can prolong their stay in the Premier League.
"The first Premier League season has been a tough one for Bournemouth, having been plagued by injuries," said Jennings. "Despite this, they have performed fantastically to date, and we hope to at least see a mid-table finish!
"A win over Arsenal would have been a big ask so the result was expected, but congratulations to The Gunners on a great game.
"After some other great results this season, I really hope that The Cherries can continue in a successful second Premier League season next year!"
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Although it depends on one other result we could remain top of the league going into 2016 and, considering some of the low points we have had, that would actually be a decent achievement.
To lose to the likes of West Ham and West Brom and get hammered by Southampton, yet still be top of the pile, gives us hope of lifting the league title. Some of the other Premier League results this season also show that the top sides have not been at their best but to be top at this stage is better than I had expected so, for the moment at least, I am happy.
That doesn't change the fact I feel we need to enter the January transfer market even more so this season. We need a top quality defensive midfielder to fill the void left by the injured Francis Coquelin. Mathieu Flamini has impressed at times but is more of a back-up player and not one to be starting every single game. Whilst Giroud and Walcott have done well at times, I still feel we need a top quality striker to enable us to make more of the sheer amount of chances Ozil is creating.
January is also set to be a tough month, including a trip to Anfield and the visit of Chelsea, not to mention the always incredibly difficult away game at Stoke. Adding more depth to the squad would give us a better chance of getting through this tough run of games and I think our league standing at the end of January could go a long way to deciding our fate - it really is a key month for us.
The visit of Newcastle to the Emirates is next on the agenda so let's try and make sure we start 2016 with a bang!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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