Double Portion of Rice

Bournemouth 2–3 Arsenal

Rice, Rice baby. And breathe.

If this was meant to be a calm, controlled way to start 2026, nobody told Arsenal.

Down on the south coast, in a game that swung wildly between chaos and control, a second-half brace from Declan Rice dragged us over the line against a Bournemouth side who refused to lie down. It finished 3–2, it probably took a year off all our lives, and it made it seven straight wins to kick off the new year. Arsenal, as ever, doing things the hard way.

Gabi makes amends (eventually)

After surviving a couple of early corners, we started to grow into it. Piero Hincapié got in behind but crossed into fresh air, Martin Ødegaard and Noni Madueke both blazed over, and Madueke in particular was doing everything right except the bit that actually counts.

Then came the moment nobody saw coming.

Gabriel — normally a walking insurance policy — had the ball at his feet, under no pressure, and calmly passed it straight to Evanilson on the edge of our box. One touch, roll into the net, David Raya nowhere. One of the strangest goals we've conceded all season, and absolutely nobody enjoyed it.

Credit where it's due, though: Gabriel didn't hide. Six minutes later, he put it right.

Madueke again did brilliantly to reach the byline and pull it back. Martinelli's shot was blocked, the ball spilled loose, and Gabriel thumped a left-footed drive home like a man personally offended by his earlier error. Redemption arc completed. Mostly.

Cherries on top (briefly)

The game stayed wide open. Bournemouth committed bodies forward; we struggled to string passes together. Tavernier arrived late and headed wide. Kluivert bent a free-kick just past the post. Semenyo — already being linked to richer, louder places — shot over after a tidy one-two.

It felt edgy. Unsettled. Like the sort of match Arsenal used to lose.

David Brooks even broke the offside trap early in the second half and fired wide, just to remind us nothing was under control yet.

Rice at the double

Ten minutes after the restart, order was restored.

Gyökeres did well to battle for a bouncing ball in the box, Ødegaard paused, scanned, and rolled it perfectly into Rice's path. From 20 yards, low, precise, inside the post. No fuss. 2–1.

Bournemouth stayed dangerous — they always do — but then came the moment that felt decisive.

Ødegaard again. This time releasing Bukayo Saka, fresh off the bench, darting inside the full-back. Saka beat the keeper to the ball by the byline and cut it back. Rice arrived. Finish. 3–1.

Cue a brand-new Declan Rice chant from the away end. Loud. Defiant. Fully earned.

Kroupi cracks one in (of course he does)

Naturally, it wasn't over.

Junior Kroupi had been on the pitch for about five minutes when he unleashed a swirling strike from distance that bent away from Raya and into the net. No warning. No apology. Suddenly it was 3–2 and very much game on.

The home crowd woke up. Hearts raced. Memories of last season's trips here came flooding back.

Professional… enough

To Arsenal's credit, there was no collapse this time. No panic. No last-minute madness.

We managed the final quarter of an hour with just enough composure, just enough game management, and just enough grit to see it through. Not pretty, not perfect — but vital.

A win against the team that beat us home and away last season, six points clear at the top, and seven on the bounce. That'll do.

What's next

No rest, no mercy.

• Thursday: Liverpool at the Emirates in the Premier League
• Sunday: Portsmouth away in the FA Cup third round
• Wednesday 14 January: Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Carabao Cup semi-final first leg

Three competitions. Three tests. One north London club setting the pace.

Happy New Year, Arsenal. Now please — just one calm win, yeah?

Top of the Tree Statement Win

Top of the Tree as Villa Routed in New Year Statement

We will end 2025 where we belong – top of the Premier League – after an outstanding second-half blitz saw us sweep aside third-placed Aston Villa and turn Emirates Stadium into an early New Year street party.

After a tense, cagey first half, the game flipped on its head within minutes of the restart. Gabriel, restored to the starting XI after injury, powered home to break the deadlock, before Martin Zubimendi doubled the lead with the composure of a man who's been doing this in north London for years. Leandro Trossard then slammed in a third, and the feel-good factor went into overdrive when Gabriel Jesus curled home his long-awaited goal to cap a near-perfect night.

Yes, Ollie Watkins grabbed a late consolation, but it barely registered. Villa's club-record 11-match winning run was emphatically ended, and a little score was settled after they'd halted our own 18-game unbeaten stretch just 24 days earlier.

First-Half Stalemate

If anyone expected fireworks from minute one, the opening 45 quickly corrected that. With nine changes across the two sides compared to the reverse fixture at Villa Park, this felt tighter, edgier – a chess match rather than a shoot-out.

Viktor Gyökeres twice went close with headers, both times narrowly missing the target after inviting service, while Villa looked dangerous on the break. Watkins scuffed wide from a great chance, then curled another effort well off after being slipped through again, with William Saliba doing just enough to delay him.

By the interval, goalless felt about right – but it also felt like something was building.

Gabi Lights the Fuse

Three minutes after the restart, the fuse was lit. Bukayo Saka swung in a corner, Emiliano Martínez hesitated, and Big Gabi didn't. A simple nod from point-blank range, and Emirates erupted.

Four minutes later, it was two. Martin Ødegaard won the ball, drove forward, and timed his pass perfectly. Zubimendi did the rest – cool, precise, and utterly ruthless. Villa, so used to dramatic away comebacks, suddenly looked stunned.

Floodgates Open

You could feel the third coming, and on 69 minutes it arrived. A half-cleared cross, a moment's hesitation from Lucas Digne, and Trossard pounced – drilling a first-time strike past a wrong-footed Martínez. VAR checked. VAR sighed. Goal stood.

Then came the moment everyone wanted. Ødegaard again the instigator, Zubimendi the conduit, Trossard the provider – and Gabriel Jesus the finisher, bending a beauty into the corner to mark the end of a long, frustrating injury lay-off.

Job done. Statement made.

Villa huffed late on, Raya pulled off heroics, and Watkins eventually poked one in, but it barely dented the mood. In our corner of Emirates Stadium, the celebrations were already rolling.

What's Next

The New Year starts on the south coast with a trip to Bournemouth, before a mouth-watering clash with Liverpool back at Emirates on Thursday, January 8. Three days later, it's FA Cup duty away at Portsmouth.

Top of the league. Momentum building. 2026, we're ready.

Move On Up Back To The Top

Captain, Own Goal, Raya. Top of the league.

Martin Ødegaard waited patiently. Fourteen minutes, in fact. And then — bang.

Low. Hard. From range. Skipper's first of the season. Message sent. 1-0

The final result: Arsenal 2, Brighton 1. Back where we belong.

This wasn't pretty-pretty football for Instagram reels. This was control, pressure, suffocation — and just enough late drama to remind us why no title race is ever straightforward.

CAPTAIN'S CONTRIBUTION

We nearly struck inside two minutes. Leandro Trossard clipped one over the top, Viktor Gyökeres bullied Lewis Dunk (welcome back) and… side-footed straight at Verbruggen. It set the tone. Brighton were already hanging on.

Bukayo Saka then turned Maxim De Cuyper inside out, forcing another save, and the warning signs were flashing bright blue and white.

The breakthrough felt inevitable. Saka again, space again, Ødegaard on the edge again. The Norwegian didn't overthink it — he drilled it low and true, past Verbruggen, and into the corner. Captain's goal. Captain's moment. His first since that thunderbolt against Southampton at the tail end of last season.

It was 1–0, but it felt bigger.

CHANCES, CHANCES, MORE CHANCES

Brighton simply couldn't live with balls over the top. Saka was everywhere. Gyökeres was bullying centre-halves. Odegaard was pulling strings.

Jan Paul van Hecke hooked one away from under our noses. Dunk blocked Saka. A low cross zipped past everyone. Then came chaos in the box — Merino shot, Zubimendi flicked, Verbruggen somehow clawed it away again.

By half-time:

15 shots.

One goal.

And absolute dominance.

SET-PIECE AGAIN (OF COURSE)

Brighton tried to change the narrative with early second-half substitutions, but it barely registered.

Then came the corner. Declan Rice whipped it in, Georginio Rutter got there first… and flicked it neatly into his own net. Arsenal 2–0. Familiar. Ruthless. Set-piece excellence doing what it does best.

We pushed for a third. Gyökeres blasted at the keeper. Saka forced another deflection. It felt like game over.

Football, of course, had other ideas.

BRIGHTON'S LIFELINE — AND RAYA'S ANSWER

Out of nowhere, Brighton had their say. Minteh to Rutter, Rutter to Ayari, post — and Diego Gómez arrived to smash it into the top corner. 2–1. Suddenly, nerves.

Brighton sensed it. Blocks flew in. Hinshelwood tried his luck. Ayari hovered. Gabriel Magalhães returned to steady things up, Danny Welbeck appeared for a nostalgic subplot… and then came the moment.

Minteh curled one toward the top corner. Raya flew. Fingertips. Save. Arsenal's 150-game man producing a title-race save when it mattered most.

We nearly killed it late on. Saka slipped in Martinelli. Too high. Game management mode engaged.

Whistle. Relief. Three points.

THE VERDICT

This wasn't flawless, but it was authoritative.

Ødegaard back on the scoresheet.

Set-pieces still lethal.

Raya proving — again — why he's indispensable.

Top of the league. No apologies.

WHAT'S NEXT

No time to admire the view.

Aston Villa at the Emirates on Tuesday, December 30.

Then 2026 begins with a trip to Bournemouth on Saturday, January 3rd (5.30pm GMT).

Strap in. This one's going the distance.