Strikes from Ozil, Ox return Arsenal to winning ways

Mesut Ozil celebrating Arsenal’s opening goal against Bournemouth in the English Premier League… yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

ARSENAL finally woke from their Barclays Premier League slumber as two quick-fire goals proved enough to beat Bournemouth 2-0 and get them back into the title picture.

The Gunners had not won in four outings, failing to score in their last three, but a 2-0 victory in their first competitive game at the home of the Cherries keeps them in the hunt for a first championship since 2004.

This was a Sunday afternoon slow-burner until the midway point of the first-half, when Arsenal ended their near-five and a half hour run without a goal in style.

Mesut Ozil tucked away the opener for his first goal since he bagged in December’s reverse fixture against Bournemouth and, just 88 seconds later, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain struck to end a 17-month wait for a Premier League goal.

When Arsenal had beaten the Cherries on December 28 they had moved to the summit of the Premier League but a poor run since then sees them third behind Leicester and fierce local rivals Tottenham.
Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth were actually the in-form side heading into this one, unbeaten in four having won three of those games to move clear of the bottom three.

All eyes will now be on the midday showdown between the Gunners and Leicester next Sunday, with Arsenal knowing they need another victory to truly be back in the hunt.

• Culled from Sportinglife.com