It’s true that the fixture list was a lot kinder than this time last year. But it’s the nature, the style of this Arsenal team that turns heads. A confidence, a pizzazz that has been missing for years. The visitors’ new captain, Martin Ødegaard, put them on the road with a brace inside twelve minutes, with William Saliba adding second-half brilliance. Bournemouth simply fell apart, a blow to the south coast which the defenses did not have the strength to withstand. “Trust the process,” Mikel Arteta had said. He kept saying it. First they laughed and then they got angry. Not anymore. No one is suggesting that Arsenal will win the title. They won’t win the title. There will be shocks, embarrassing moments. But explosions seem unlikely. And the bond between players and fans is strong, perhaps enhanced by allowing camera access to the intimate spaces of football last season. Yes, trust the process. Arsenal’s league position at this stage, however, is irrelevant to Arteta. “It’s very difficult to come here and win 3-0,” he said. “I’m very happy, but at the same time we have to look at ourselves. there are many areas in which we can still become much better.” This ground hosted Arteta’s first game as Arsenal manager in December 2019. Since then he has slowly sucked the gilded poison out of the club, meaning only Bucayo Saka and Granit Xhaka remain as starters. And this new consistency meant that, for the first time since the Invincibles of 2003-04, Arsenal fielded the same line-up for the first three league games. Their fans were intense even before kick-off. A beach trip in the sun. What can go wrong? Well, they’ve been stung before. However, they needn’t worry. Bournemouth were, from the moment Rockin’ All Over the World broke out, compliant hosts. The away euphoria came within minutes, Ødegaard was the scorer but it was all about Gabriel Jesus. Among the three changes Bournemouth made was an appearance for Marcos Senesi, a summer signing from Feyenoord. His first act, on his full debut, was to get off the ball from Jesus, who took a perfect touch and flicked it past Jefferson Lerma. A clever reverse pass put Gabriel Martinelli down the left and, while Mark Travers made a smart save with his feet, Ødegaard made a tap-in. However, Jesus was the mob. Senesi was replaced at the break. welcome to the Premier League Martin Ødegaard opens the scoring. Photo: Dylan Martinez/Reuters Six minutes later the lead was doubled. Saka found an overlapping Ben White and the breakaway was controlled by Jesus near the penalty spot. Before Jesus could knock, Ødegaard and his bright yellow shoes arrived to finish emphatically. White double-checking VAR had not overturned his run, the goal stood and Arsenal were left in rhythmic dominance. Ødegaard was the pace setter, Martinelli and Jesus electrically charged. When Bournemouth were allowed to show adventures, he was extinguished. Much has been made of Oleksandr Zinchenko’s role as an inverted full-back and how he has given Xhaka a new freedom. But he is also a good defender. Marcus Tavernier’s break attempt was stopped with such ease that it wouldn’t have been surprising if Zinchenko had shrugged his shoulders afterwards. Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The third goal took whatever air Bournemouth had left. A short foul saw Martinelli dance down the right. His deep cross found Xhaka, who teed up Saliba. A glorious first-time left-footed strike from the edge of the area flew past Travers. A would-be fourth from Jesus was ruled out by VAR for offside. Perhaps it’s a bit unfair to judge Bournemouth on games like this. They won promotion under Scott Parker with a controlled, possession-based style. Just what Arsenal were on the wrong end of. Their first half was uneventful, but the hosts were little better after a tactical change at the break. However, by the time Kieffer Moore finally called Aaron Ramsdale into action – a towering header went wide – almost 80 minutes had passed. This was Ramsdale’s first return to Bournemouth since joining Arsenal via Sheffield United. With warm applause from all sides it must have felt like a testimony at times. Parker’s frustration after the fight was clear. “While we were never able to get a foothold in the game and we never challenged or created any problems for Arsenal, our general attitude was quite poor,” he said. “I was very disappointed with it.” For all the anxiety Bournemouth fans would have felt, it was mixed with the joy of Arsenal fans. They spent 20 minutes of the opening period serenading Saliba with his name popping into the 1950s hit Tequila. He got a second screening after the final whistle and, according to Arteta, infiltrated the dressing room. Remote fans were happily going through their song catalog, even bringing a few new ones. Xhaka probably never thought he would hear the day his name would be called happily. He has earned it. Disappearing into the tunnel in solitude, Arteta gave himself a smile. He never came back. No need. He could hear the eulogy loud and clear.
