Giroud helps Arsenal regain 1 point in injury time

Giroud scored in stoppage 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 badly, 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 unexpectedly "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 to reduce the score to 1-3, and himself headed the goal to make it 3-3. After a long time 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 took 7 minutes to put his name on the scoring list with a beautiful shot, giving the opposing goalkeeper no chance to block.

Arsenal had a crazy match on the field ofBournemouth. Photo: Reuters

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

Arsenal had just tried to push up their formation to find an equalizer when they were immediately hit by a counterattack. In the 20th minute, Ryan Fraser quickly rushed down, cleverly fell when pushed by Xhaka in the penalty area, causing referee Michel Oliver to immediately blow the whistle for a penalty. At 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 opponent.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 increase the score to 3-0.

After scoring the third goal, Bournemouth played somewhat 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 shorten the score to 1-3. Less than five minutes later, it was Lucas Perez's turn to shoot with his left foot, "burning" the home team's net.

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

The drama of the match was heightened 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 defence held firm until the end of regulation time, but when the referee announced six 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 the 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 the top-ranked Chelsea, despite having played one more match.

According to VNE