Our 4️⃣ points as Arsenal edge Everton and Chelsea stumble at Bournemouth | OneFootball

There were contrasting fortunes for the two London sides in action today as Arsenal won again while Chelsea again failed to impress.

Check out what we made of everything.

Arsenal moved to within two points of Manchester City thanks to a narrow win at Goodison Park.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side struggled in the final third once again as the Cherries held out for a well-deserved draw.

Hoodoo lifted as Gunners show steely resolve

Arsenal had not won at Goodison Park since 2017 but lifted that hoodoo to record a hugely important win to keep pace with Manchester City.

The win also showed a steeliness and resolve that perhaps was missing during the run-in last year, when Mikel Arteta’s men seemed to crumble under the emotional pressure of a title charge.

Some of that can certainly be attributed to the £105m arrival of Declan Rice, who once again impressed at the base of a midfield three, shielding his defenders and also starting attacks from deep. The Englishman has added further physicality and height to the Gunners, something which was non-existent in recent times.

Even when injury saw Gabriel Martinelli depart directly after having a goal disallowed by VAR, there was little panic and his replacement, Leandro Trossard, was the man to get the winner with a brilliant finish in the 69th minute.

The Gunners have now won both of their away games this season by a single goal. 1-0 to the Arsenal!

Forward failure

It’s become a familiar refrain in the opening weeks of the season, but is that really what £1bn gets you?

Chelsea were, at times, appalling here as Bournemouth – who haven’t exactly torn up any trees this term – held off the Blues like Mike Tyson would bat away a toddler.

Despite some spirited running from Raheem Sterling and his exceptional free kick in the second half, the west London side offered almost nothing in attack as they drew a blank yet again.

That’s now the second game in a row that they’ve failed to score and it means the Blues have won just one of their first five games.

No matter what way you cut it, that just isn’t good enough.

Cole Palmer came on late in the second half and added some technical quality to the proceedings, but it wasn’t enough as Chelsea continued to look blunt and one-paced.

Things need to change, and fast, if Pochettino’s side are to get themselves amongst the European places this term.

No goals, no creativity, no chance?

It was another day to forget for Everton as the Toffees again came unstuck in front of goal, having just a single shot on target against David Raya on his Arsenal debut.

They have failed to score in four of their five league games, with their only two coming in a draw at Sheffield United. That point at Bramall Lane remains their only point so far.

It is hardly a surprise that Sean Dyche’s men are struggling to find the net or create chances when you consider their options in midfield and up front.

While hardworking, none of Idrissa Gueye, Amadou Onana or Abdoulaye Doucouré would ever be mistaken for creative playmakers or goalscorers. It leaves the decision to sell Alex Iwobi on deadline day to Fulham all the more baffling.

As for strikers, new signing Beto made his home debut and is already loved by Evertonians but he can’t be expected to be clinical immediately. The hope was that Dominic Calvert-Lewin could overcome his injury troubles, but his face mask today served as a reminder of his current injury and consistent trips to the treatment table.

It is hard to see the club surviving for another season unless something changes very soon. Maybe potential new ownership will lead to some January market activity, but that is not for another three and half months.

Has the Cherries bubble burst?

There was plenty of excitement over the summer when it was confirmed that Andoni Iraola would take over as Bournemouth boss.

His Rayo Vallecano side were one of the most exciting in Spain last season and plenty of European football watchers had proclaimed the former Athletic Bilbao defender as a coach on the vanguard of the game.

It has, though, been a tough start to the campaign on the south coast for the 41-year-old.

The Cherries have played some progressive stuff in these early weeks but struggled to turn their eye-catching possession football into wins.

And this performance against the Blues really didn’t offer up much inspiration for those hardy supporters at the Vitality Stadium.

Despite Chelsea’s complete lack of cutting edge, the hosts failed to capitalise and looked all at sea at times with the away side’s pacy wingers.

On at least half a dozen occasions, Chelsea had overloaded both flanks and were it not for poor decision-making, Bournemouth would have paid for their sloppiness.

Admittedly, Bournemouth have had to endure a tough schedule in these opening weeks, but no wins from five does tell its own story.