On the Whistle: Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth - "You can't ask for much more from this team"

Hello guys, full time here at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal 3 Bournemouth 0. Not a scoreline that tells the whole story of the game but I think a deserved win nonetheless. Arsenal now 4 points clear at the top of the Premier League, albeit with City having 2 games extra to play. 10 goals rather clear on goal difference. 88 goals scored now in the Premier League this season which matches our Premier League best ever which was set last season. 26 wins for the team, matching Arsenal's best ever Premier League return. And David Reier claims the Golden Glove today after a 15th clean sheet. His clean sheet record, almost 1 in 2 games at this point in time for Arsenal in the Premier League, which tells you a great deal about the manner in which this team has defended. They got the job done today, that was all that mattered. I said the 3-0 maybe wasn't reflective of the entire story of the game. I would say it was reflective of the first half. Arsenal could have been absolutely out of sight about 20 minutes into this game. I think it was 9, 10, 11 shots in the first 20 minutes of the game. Bournemouth were hanging in there, Mark Travers had a good performance for them in that first half hour in goal. Arsenal should have scored as well, some really good chances, some great positions worked. And you were watching it thinking was it going to be one of those days where we do everything but score? Then eventually we get the breakthrough with a penalty decision. Now the fish-hating will be another big topic of discussion today. I have to say, I'll start with this one, I thought it was a penalty. For me Kai Havertz doesn't change his direction, he carries on moving and Travers catches him. Do I think Havertz was looking for it? Absolutely. And to be honest I think Havertz had a brilliant game today, he did so much well. I would like my centre-forward in that area to stay on his feet and put the ball in the net. It feels like he's done the hard work and he's still looking for the spot kick. But we get it and Bukayo Saka, cool as you like. I think it's now 10 of 11 penalties he's scored since that Euros miss, which is a remarkable record. Very, very cool in that situation. Another fish-hating decision that we should discuss was Ryan Christie foul on Bukayo Saka earlier in the first half. VAR looked at it, decided that it was reckless but not dangerous is what I was told. So they did not change the official's decision. I think if it had been given as a red I don't think VAR would have overturned it. I think it absolutely should have been a yellow, could well have been a red. But what I will say about the VAR today is that in three cases, the Saka foul, the penalty and later the Bournemouth goal that was disallowed, ultimately they stuck with the on-field decision. And I think that's probably right in each case. I'm not sure that any of those for me quantified a clear and obvious refereeing error. I think there was debate over all three. Some will disagree, I know many Arsenal fans feel that it's the clearest day red card on Saka. I think it's one that might have been, might not have been. And generally I don't really have an issue with the technology, with the VAR referee following the on-field decision because I think we want to empower the on-field referees as much as we can. That said, might as well talk about it now. I do think Bournemouth should have had a goal in the second half. I think it was very soft. I think it's potentially a foul for a tug on Billing. I think Ryan needs to be a little bit stronger there, but we'll take it. We'll take it guys. And before that was made 2-0, Leandro Trossard tucking home. How many important goals has he scored this season? Well, I can tell you 15. 15 for Arsenal. But Kai Saka's goal took him to 20. It's a brilliant tally. But Trossard's got to 15 in a lot less minutes. I think his minutes per goal is something like 0.64 goals per game or something mad in 110 minutes per goal, something like that. He really has been lethal. And this shot, it's not the cleanest strike. It's not right in the corner. What's the key? He hits it early. There's none of that deliberation. The ball comes to him. He takes the chance off. I think that's what he does really well. Then Bournemouth have a disallowed goal. We needed that Trossard goal because I thought Bournemouth were vastly improved in the second half. And it was a really different game. Reminded me of the Villa game in that way, where first 45 minutes, we were so dominant. Second 45 minutes, they really came back into it. And they were getting in behind. They had a few chances. Kluivert flashed a few shots, just wide of the goal. But then Trossard gets that goal and it feels like kind of game over, especially once their goal is disallowed. And then in stoppage time, Declan Rice, who created Trossard's goal with a nice little sort of shuffled pass off the outside of his foot, scores a third, a goal and an assist for him today. Finding that engine in stoppage time to get into the opponent's penalty area, finish the chance off. I do like him in this number eight role. I have to say, I mean, it's a really intriguing conundrum for Arsenal and where do you want to see him play? Do you want him to be a number six, sitting at the base, or do you want to open him up to get forward and express himself? Games like today, he really does that effectively. It's just so hard to live with someone with that athleticism. Think back to Steven Gerrard. Gerrard was technically incredibly gifted, but one of the most difficult things for defences to deal with as a round of applause for Kai Havertz, who's just been interviewed by TNT Sports. Really good all-round game today, Havertz. But yeah, one of the things that made Steven Gerrard so difficult to play against was that physical power. He was so powerful, so athletic, especially when he was fit. And Reiss has that too, you know, running with him, staying with him is so difficult. If he can ally that with good finishing, he could be a real threat. I think he should have scored one in the first half after a really good knockdown from Tommy Asu, was it, or from Havertz. But yeah, got his goal in the end. And by the way, speaking of goals, what a crime that that Gabriel strike was ruled out. Oh, he was gutted. It was a brilliant hit. As a left footer myself, I had a soft spot for that one. Rob Van Persie couldn't have struck it any better into the far top corner, but there you go. There were a few iffy moments, I thought, for Arsenal at the back. Gabriel made a couple of errors, obviously with a disallowed goal. But you know, we created more than enough on the day to win the game. And look where we are now. Top of the table, just two games to go. It's all about City, really. It's all about Wolves. Can they get anything at the Etihad today? We'll be looking at, you know, Fulham next weekend, Spurs. I don't think we hold up much hope for a favour from Spurs. But yeah, Arsenal looking like a side who absolutely can go on and win all their games. The problem is, will City do the same? We will have to wait and see. But credit to this team. What they've produced over the last few months has been spectacular. And the numbers speak for themselves. Matching the win record, matching the goal record. It's a remarkable defensive record as well. It's been extremely good. You can't really ask for much more. And if they don't win the title, they'll be unfortunate. As Paul Merson said earlier this week, you know, there were some good heavyweights around in the 90s, but Mike Tyson was the world champ and that was just their luck. They never got to be world champ because they were up against Mike Tyson. Did Mike Tyson have 115 charges hanging over him? Well, I won't get into that. I'll leave it there, guys. Thanks for watching as always. And I'll speak to you all soon. Take care. Bye-bye.