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The first nine seconds were historic, the last nine euphoric.
The shock of conceding the second-quickest Premier League goal took 97 minutes to wear off for Arsenal, but no one in the build-up that came after Reiss Nelson hit the net to seal a breathless comeback will say it came a second too long. soon.
Arsenal are again five points clear at the top of the table when everyone seemed like they only had time for three.
They have turned despair back into ecstasy and add to the mounting evidence that this will be a season to remember for their fans.
How early is too early to go to the front? Well, how about 9.11 seconds? Is 2-0 a dangerous advantage? It is against this Arsenal team that he will never say die.
Reiss Nelson scored the winner in the 97th minute for Arsenal against Bournemouth, causing euphoria at the Emirates Stadium.
Philip Billing’s goal for Bournemouth after 9.11 seconds was historic, the second fastest goal in Premier League history.
Bournemouth found both to their own expense here, but having led for so long, they left with nothing.
Nine seconds were off Arsenal’s famous old clock when Philip Billing’s goal, slower than Shane Long’s for Southampton at Watford in 2019, stunned those still moving from the concourse to their seats.
When Marco Senesi headed in in the second half for 2-0, it looked as if Manchester City would be roaring behind Arsenal. But then came the counterattack.
Unlikely scorers defended Mikel Arteta, with Thomas Partey and Ben White level before Nelson returned after four months to win it.
Arteta had made three changes to his squad, naming Arsenal’s first line-up without a player who played with Arsene Wenger for 37 years. But while that closed the book on the Wenger era, the first nine seconds were a throwback to defending the last few chapters of him.
Straight from kick-off, Dango Ouattara stormed clear down the right before finishing a low cross towards the penalty spot. Gabriel stuck out his right foot, the ball shot under and dribbled into the path of Billing, who spiked from six yards.
Instantly the Emirates crowd responded, but the shock was evident. A quick response from Martin Odegaard saw his shot from the edge of the box saved by Neto, before Bukayo Saka hit the keeper in the face on the rebound.
Bournemouth flopped back to their base camp for the remainder of the match, as if they had scored in the last minute rather than the first. Packed like sardines in their own penalty area were 11 black jerseys, and only three were cleared to leave.
That was almost all they needed in the 20 minutes, as Arsenal had pushed so hard with Oleksandr Zinchenko in his usual reverse midfield role and Takehiro Tomiyasu overlapping Saka that the visitors even created a mismatch.
The excellent Billing moved onto a long clearance with Dom Solanke and Ouattara for company, and with only the Arsenal centre-backs to beat, he slid into the latter, but the Burkina Faso winger saw his shot brilliantly stifled by Aaron Ramsdale.
At the other end, the last of 14 first-half shots were never far away, but Bournemouth’s deep block meant Odegaard, Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe, instead of the injured Leandro Trossard, were limited to shots from distance.
Arsenal had two cries for penalties, but neither reached the John Brooks VAR threshold to be awarded. The first was when Chris Mepham headed in and went down with the ball resting on his arm, but he was judged to be in a natural position, and the second when Tomiyasu and Senesi collided, but the visiting centre-back barely touched. the ball.
Marcos Senesi put the Cherries two goals before the hour of play, as they were looking to surprise Arsenal.
Arsenal’s Thomas Partey pulled one back for the Gunners in the 62nd minute, as they looked to counter-attack in the game.
Arsenal had had 85 per cent possession in the first half, but nothing to prove. And just before the hour, Bournemouth was out of sight.
Joe Rothwell took a corner from the left, Senesi got away from Partey and scored his second goal for the club.
This time, the Emirates were silent, but only for five minutes.
Neto cleared a Saka corner only to Smith Rowe, who headed back into the box and Partey finished to make it 2-1.
Neto, who had endeared himself to the Emirates as only a visiting goalkeeper can, claimed, against all evidence, that he had been fouled in preparation, but Chris Kavanagh only noticed it to admonish him for his protests.
Ben White’s 70th-minute equalizer gave hope to the Gunners, who came back from a 2-0 deficit that damaged their title hopes.
And the Brazilian’s misery worsened 20 minutes from time when Nelson, coming on as Smith Rowe made a return trip to the bench, crossed from the left and found White, who volleyed home. His first goal for the club was confirmed by goal-line technology and the referee’s watch.
If it had been one-way traffic up to that point, then the last 15 minutes would be an IndyCar race. Stream after stream of Arsenal attacks rained down on Neto’s goal, although the Bournemouth player whose hand made the most revealing intervention was Billing, perhaps lucky to go without a penalty when he blocked Gabriel’s header from point-blank range.
Saka and Nelson, two boys from Hale End, went to the defense of Bournemouth again and again only to find the gate shut in their faces.
But when a corner on the last headed for Nelson, he pushed it off with his left foot and showed that it’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish.