Arsenal’s young stars will come again if they don’t win the Premier League this season – but they had a helping hand from VAR in 3-0 win over Bournemouth, writes IAN LADYMAN

Ten minutes after the final whistle and his TV duties done, Arsenal’s Declan Rice finally left the pitch with a smile, a wink and a thumbs up to the supporters gathered near the players’ tunnel. If that gave the impression that this had been a simple afternoon, that would be completely wrong.

Arsenal deserved their win. They enjoyed possession and territory and created the chances. In the first 25 minutes of attacking Bournemouth, Mikel Arteta’s team created nine good chances.

But Premier League titles are hard to win and ultimately Arsenal needed a number of decisions to achieve their goal of completing this particular job and ensuring they reach the end of this round of fixtures still at the top of the league.

The penalty awarded to them just before half-time was not an easy decision. Kai Havertz certainly did his best to establish the contact that ultimately came from Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers. Bukayo Saka scored from the spot.

Then, fifteen minutes from time with Arsenal leading 2–0 but far from safe, referee David Coote fouled Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya at the start of a trick that ended with Bournemouth putting the ball in the net.

Arsenal secured a 3-0 win over Bournemouth and took another big step towards the title

Leandro Trossard (left) and Rice (right) both scored in the win over Bournemouth

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

A goal for the away team at that stage and the Emirates would be consumed with late nerves. The VAR looked at that for a long time and should probably have invited Coote to take a look at his field monitor. But that didn’t happen and Arsenal were allowed to cross the finish line without drama and indeed score an own goal.

So Arteta may have known that his team was on the right side of a few here, but he will also have recognized how well his team played in patches. Rice continues to move around Arsenal’s midfield with the look of a player at the height of his considerable powers. He has not even been in North London for a season and is already looking much better than when he arrived from West Ham.

Further forward, Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard, Saka and Havertz currently form the most fearsome attacking quarter in the country. If they don’t win the Premier League this time, it’s hard to see anything other than a new challenge next time. Arsenal has the appearance of a team that is ready to grow together into the sporting middle age.

Sure, they were great early on. Trossard, Odegaard and Rice all had shots blocked from good positions. Havertz and Saka attacked goalkeeper Travers from corners, after which left back Takehiro Tomiyasu saw a header from a corner kick off the line.

The traffic only went one way. To be honest, Bournemouth didn’t seem too keen to get involved. But as half-time approached, Arsenal had not yet broken through and a whiff of fear began to hang in the wind. So the penalty was welcome.

Havertz’s run through the inside left channel to Odegaard’s run was well timed and Travers was foolish to lead with his feet. He let Havertz leave his own left foot behind him and when contact came, the German went over. Havertz certainly bought it. Likewise, Travers’ intervention was clumsy.

At one point it looked like the goalkeeper had his eye on the ball, but after a long delay the VAR officials were unable to find anything concrete with which to contradict Coote and Saka was invited to score the penalty, which he did with ease.

Bournemouth were furious and understandably so. Ryan Christie’s early challenge on Saka was also high and late, leaving its mark on the inside of his opponent’s leg. It could have been a red card.

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

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

So the challenge now faced Bournemouth. They had to play in a different way – they had to be a little braver – and being this early in the second period they carried a threat. Justin Kluivert was impressive on the left, while Dominic Solanke also played a central role.

The closest they came was when Solanke made a low save from Raya at his near post in the 53rd minute. Fifteen minutes later, with Bournemouth’s threat still real, Arsenal scored what proved to be a crucial second goal. Odegaard’s deflection into Rice’s path in the penalty area was a bit lucky, but the England player’s reverse pass with the outside of his foot towards Trossard was fantastic. Then Trossard’s finish was the easy part and the Belgian defeated Travers low to his left.

That should have been the game. Bournemouth didn’t seem to have two goals. Still, they will be sad that things go against them with fifteen minutes to go. There seemed to be very little to note in the aerial challenges that followed Tomiyasu’s cut clearance on the Arsenal six-yard line.

But after Christie hit the crossbar and Antoine Semenyo rammed in the rebound, Bournemouth were penalized for what was deemed by Solanke to be a foul on Raya as he tried to punch the ball clear. Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola felt he had seen a tug from Gabriel on Philip Billing earlier and perhaps he had a point. Meanwhile, has Solanke really hindered Raya in any significant way? It’s hard to say. But again the VAR looked long and hard and then did nothing.

Rice’s goal seven minutes into extra time came from a lung-bursting run from deep to a pass from Gabriel Jesus. Timing and hard work. It’s a reasonable combination.

Three goals during the stretch indicated long periods of Arsenal dominance. However, they didn’t say anything about some of the fine details in this game.