Arsenal top the Premier League as Arteta revolution continues with win over Bournemouth

Bournemouth, England – Martin Odegaard scored twice and William Saliba attacked with a superb effort as Mikel Arteta’s side won their third consecutive game to open the 2022-23 season. The 3-0 win saw them top the Premier League with their first three perfect matches of the season since 2004-05.

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Here is our reaction to Saturday’s Premier League game on the South Coast.

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1. Arsenal go from rock bottom to top of the league

Last year, Arsenal lost their first three matches to sit at the bottom of the standings with no goals and no points, raising serious questions about Mikel Arteta’s management. A year later, they took the lead on Saturday night with a resounding 3-0 win over Bournemouth, suggesting that Arteta has Arsenal in a place where they can seriously challenge for the top four spot.

Contrasts are welcome everywhere. Arteta’s first match was against Bournemouth in December 2019, a 1-1 draw as Arsenal raced to save a point. This time, they were 2-0 up the South Coast within 11 minutes through a Martin Odegaard brace, before William Saliba continued their lead nine minutes into the first half. Their dominance was complete: Bournemouth had no touches in the Arsenal box in the first 45 minutes and finished with an xG of 0.29. The cheerful back-up sang Arteta’s name and revisited a music group that emphasized reconnecting with their band — even Granite Chaka, who was stripped of the captaincy less than three years ago, was among those who sang.

Tougher tests to come – Bournemouth will clearly struggle to stay awake this season if reinforcements don’t arrive before the window closes – but Arteta has Arsenal in a very different place now than the dark days of yesteryear.

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2. Jesus sets the tone

Record records will show that Odegaard scored the opening goal here and assisted Gabriel Martinelli, but it was Gabriel Jesus’ contribution that did the most to turn the game in Arsenal’s favor early on. Five minutes later, Jesus outmaneuvered Marcos Senese before making a great first touch to help him spin into space, dodging Jefferson Lerma, and bogeying behind Marcus Tavernier before slipping a reverse pass away from Chris Mipham to unleash Martinelli for a shot on goal.

Regardless of the impressive quality of this clip of gameplay, it was the kind of tough moment that set the tone for the entire team. Arsenal’s previous incarnations would start away matches like this with doubts about their hunger to fight, allowing opponents to grow in the game as they sensed an opportunity.

Not this time.

Arteta has already described how he witnessed the impact of Jesus’ winning mentality behind the scenes, and here he epitomized that on the pitch: he drove from the front with determination and authority to help give Arsenal the lead they never seemed to concede. It’s still early days, but the promotion to Jesus by Alexandre Lacazette looks stark in this guide. In another sign of his growing influence, Jesus finished the match here as captain in only his third appearance for the club.

3. Saliba’s transformation continues

Arsenal fans spent most of the first half playing a new song for their £27m center back – “Saliba” to the tunes of “Tequila” for Champions – long before he scored his first goal for the club. A great left-footed finish nine minutes into the second half. The 21-year-old received Xhaka’s pass for the first time inside the penalty area, and lifted a fine finish on Mark Travers to score his first goal for Arsenal. Well, his first goal is at the right end.

Last week, Saliba netted in Arsenal’s 4-2 win over Leicester City, but was supported during that difficult moment by a fan base desperate to see him succeed after waiting three years to see him represent the club. And as a cross was running to celebrate, Oleksandr Zinchenko simply sank to his knees, hands on his head, overwhelmed by the grandeur of it all.

Saliba’s composure is undoubtedly impressive for someone so young, and he finished here with a 100% pass completion rate: 75 out of 75. The hype around this promising young defender will only grow.