Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth: Mikel Arteta’s men go four points at the top of the Premier League after goals from Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice in a game dominated by two major VAR controversies

Arsenal are potentially two wins away from winning their first Premier League title in 20 years after facing a spirited Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium.

A penalty from Bukayo Saka and second-half strikes from Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice earned the hosts a 3-0 win that leaves them top of the table after the weekend’s action.

The fate of the title is still out of Arsenal’s hands as reigning champions Manchester City still have a game in hand, but all Mikel Arteta’s side can do at this stage is win their remaining games – with a trip to Manchester United and the visit of Everton in the final. day is yet to come.

Being well on top, it took until their 16th shot for Arsenal to break the deadlock when Saka converted from 12 yards after Kai Havertz had made a mistake.

Trossard’s strike secured the points, although Bournemouth will feel aggrieved at being denied a late goal that would have resulted in a grandstand finish as Dominic Solanke was penalized for pushing David Raya.

Bukayo Saka (R) scored the first of the match from the spot despite claims that Kai Havertz (L) dived to win the penalty

Leandro Trossard scored the second of the match when he finished off a well-executed move

Unlike last season’s match, when the Cherries took the lead within ten seconds, it was Arsenal who led from the start.

Ryan Christie was lucky to escape any form of punishment for catching Saka with a big challenge as Bournemouth had to throw bodies for shots almost immediately – William Saliba appeared in the visitors’ box to test Mark Travers as the pressure started on build.

Thomas Partey’s low effort was timid enough for Travers to go behind for a corner, while Rice shot wide from twelve yards, with the opening goal yet to come despite Arsenal’s dominance.

That changed just before the break when referee David Coote pointed to a penalty after it was judged that Travers had brought down Havertz.

Bournemouth were left furious after Antoine Semenyo’s strike was disallowed for an apparent foul on David Raya – despite minimal contact

After a lengthy VAR review, the original decision to disallow the goal stood

A VAR check confirmed the decision on the pitch and Saka calmly rolled in the resulting penalty to give the Gunners a deserved half-time lead.

Saka should have doubled that advantage shortly after the restart, but he shot into the box when he was free and Travers made another save before keeping out a Havertz attack.

A rare foray forward saw Solanke Raya at least work into the Arsenal goal and it marked the spell of the match as the Cherries began to offer more of an attacking threat.

Justin Kluivert curled a free-kick over the crossbar before failing to make the most of it as it was played over Arsenal’s defence.

Declan Rice scored the third goal of the afternoon to seal the victory

With the feeling of a late Bournemouth leveler growing, Trossard allayed concerns for the hosts and their fans. Rice picked up a loose ball on the edge of the Bournemouth box and played a subtle pass to Trossard, who tucked home.

Coote then angered the traveling fans when he ruled out a potential Antoine Semenyo effort for Solanke that would hinder Raya in the build-up.

Rice added sparkle to the afternoon by hammering home a third goal from an acute angle deep into stoppage time to keep Arsenal’s hopes of a first division title since 2004 alive.