London: Arsenal edged up to third in the Premier League as David Luiz’s first goal for the club earned a 1-0 win over Bournemouth on Sunday.
Luiz has been a figure of fun for a host of defensive errors early in his Arsenal career after making the switch across London from Chelsea in August However, the Brazilian is always a threat at the other end of the field and rose highest to head home Nicolas Pepe’s corner on nine minutes. Bournemouth had enough chances to at least earn a point with Callum Wilson missing the clearest opportunity, but Arsenal held out to record their first clean sheet in the Premier League since the opening day of the season.
Victory moves Unai Emery’s men a point above Leicester, Chelsea and Crystal Palace in the early running for a top-four finish. Pepe has struggled to match the expectations of his club-record USD 88 million transfer fee since a summer move from Lille, but was told by Unai Emery to embrace the pressure of that price tag and the Ivorian was in the mood to impress.
Twice Arsenal had penalty appeals for fouls on Pepe by Diego Rico waived away. However, it was Bournemouth who arguably had the best chance to add to the scoring before half-time when Dominic Solanke headed a Rico free-kick wide. The visitors were certainly the more threatening side after the break and will rue heading back to the south coast with nothing to show for their efforts.
Wilson had the best chance when the England striker eased through the Arsenal defence and rounded Bernd Leno, but could not direct his shot on goal and Callum Chambers cleared. (AFP)
