Giroud helps Arsenal regain 1 point in injury time

Giroud scored in injury time to help Arsenal draw 3-3 at Bournemouth in the late match of round 20 of the Premier League on January 3.

Scorers: Charlie Daniels (16'), Callum Wilson (20'), Ryan Fraser (58') - Alexis Sanchez (70'), Lucas Perez (75'), Oliver Giroud (90'+2).

Arsenal started the match very poorly, the players lacked energy. Hector Bellerin and Granit Xhaka took turns making mistakes, allowing the home team to easily take a 3-goal lead. When many Arsenal fans stood up to leave, coach Wenger and his team suddenly "came back from the dead", scoring 3 goals in a row to escape empty-handed.

Oliver Giroud deserves to be considered the hero of Arsenal. The French striker assisted Alexis Sanchez to score the goal to reduce the score to 1-3, and himself headed the goal to make it 3-3. After a long time sitting on the bench, Giroud returned and scored in three consecutive matches.

In addition, coach Wenger also adjusted the personnel precisely. Substitute striker Lucas Perez only needed 7 minutes to put his name on the score list with a beautiful shot, giving the opposing goalkeeper no chance to block.

Arsenal had a crazy match on their home field.Bournemouth. Photo: Reuters

At Dean Court, Bournemouth entered the match with full force. Coach Eddie Howe's team moved flexibly, proactively pushing up their attacking formation. Bournemouth continuously increased the pressure and it only took them 16 minutes to score the opening goal. Detecting Hector Bellerin leaving his position, Junior Stanislas passed the ball long and accurately changed the direction of attack to the left for Charlie Daniels. This left-back delicately broke the ball past the rushing Hector Bellerin, before firing a shot past goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Arsenal had just tried to push up the formation to find an equalizer when they were immediately hit by a counter-attack. In the 20th minute, Ryan Fraser quickly rushed down, cleverly fell when Xhaka pushed him in the penalty area, causing referee Michel Oliver to immediately blow the whistle for a penalty. On the 11m mark, Callum Wilson fooled goalkeeper Petr Cech, shooting from the middle of the goal to make it 2-0.

Bellerin played disappointingly, making mistakes in two of Arsenal's goals. Photo: Reuters

With Ozil and Coquelin having to leave the field early due to injuries, Arsenal's midfield was completely outclassed by Bournemouth. As a result, the visitors were unable to organize sharp attacks, and only managed one shot on target in the entire first half.

In the second half, Arsenal started to improve and started to put pressure on the score.Bournemouth. But when the attackers had not yet found a way into the opponent's goal, the defense made a mistake, and the culprit was still Hector Bellerin. The Spanish defender let Ryan Fraser run up from behind to steal the ball, penetrate the penalty area, and shoot through the legs of goalkeeper Petr Cech to make it 3-0.

After scoring the third goal, Bournemouth played a bit complacently. In addition, their attack also lost its danger when Ryan Fraser was substituted. Thanks to that, Arsenal regained control of the game and started scoring. In the 70th minute, Giroud jumped high to head the ball back and Alexis Sanchez was immediately there to head the ball back to reduce the score to 1-3. Less than five minutes later, it was Lucas Perez's turn to shoot with his left foot to "burn" the home team's net.

Giroud became Arsenal's hero with a header in injury time. Photo: Reuters

The drama of the match was pushed up when Bournemouth captain Simon Francis was sent off in the 82nd minute after a rough tackle on Aaron Ramsey. With more players, Arsenal completely dominated the game, constantly threatening Artur Boruc's goal.

Bournemouth's defense held firm until the end of regulation time, but when the referee announced 6 minutes of added time, the home fans' faces showed concern. And what they feared did happen. In the second minute of added time, Oliver Giroud stunned Bournemouth fans when he headed the ball off the post and into the net to tie the score at 3-3.

Despite escaping defeat, Arsenal missed the chance to overtake Man City to take third place. Coach Wenger's team has 41 points, 8 points behind leaders Chelsea despite having played one more game.

According to VNE