Arsenal throw away Bournemouth lead as race for Europe takes twist - 5 talking points

Bournemouth came from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates and shake-up the race for European football in the . The Gunners suffered their second successive home loss on the back of to Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.

opened the scoring with 34 minutes on the clock, continuing his impressive goalscoring form. The goal showed how influential team-mate is, having missed the .

The Gunners were in firm control of the contest but , looking for their first ever league double over , knew that a chance would come their way. It came from a throw-in, as £50million-rated Dean Huijsen headed home to continue .

Their set-piece struggles continued when a Cherries corner was finished off by Evanilson, who was before overturned his red card against in midweek. Bournemouth's hopes of playing European football next year were given a huge boost while Arsenal will have to wait to secure Champions League football in the 2025-26 season.

Bournemouth themselves were reeling from a 1-1 draw with United last weekend, . There was no escaping the backdrop of Wednesday's semi-final second leg for the hosts but that didn't affect Mikel Arteta's line-up.

Here are five talking points from the Emirates.

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1. Arteta goes strong

Ahead of what could be a season-defining night in Paris on Wednesday, only made two changes to his starting XI. Partey and came in for Mikel Merino and the injured Jurrien Timber, showing just how important the Arsenal boss believed this game was.

That was in contrast to boss Luis Enrique, who made 10 changes to his line-up as the French champions travelled to face Strasbourg. They lost 2-1, their second Ligue 1 defeat in a row and third without a win.

Arteta was hoping for a better result and the Gunners started well. Rice flashed a shot wide before Bournemouth defender Illia Zabarnyi headed clear on the line.

Will Arsenal beat Paris Saint-Germain? Give us your score prediction in the .

2. Rice continues goalscoring form on 100th appearance

Despite a few hairy moments, it always felt like the first goal was coming Arsenal's way. In light of Partey's return, Rice was given more license to go forward and one of his many runs into box was found by a neat Martin Odegaard pass.

Rice then took the ball around Kepa Arrizabalaga and slotted home, scoring his third goal in seven games on his 100th appearance for the Gunners. The assist from Odegaard was welcome, having been criticised for his performance against PSG in midweek.

3. Set-piece concerns grow for the Gunners

They may be deadly when it comes to scoring from set pieces but Arsenal are one of the Premier League's most susceptible sides when defending them. Having conceded from a corner in their last game at the Emirates, Bournemouth followed suit with a long throw from Antoine Semenyo, who'd just come on against the team he supported growing up.

The ball was flighted towards Dean Huijsen and the in-demand defender rose highest to head past . It was Huijsen's fourth Premier League goal of the season - all with his head - and it was game on. recently joked that Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover should have his wage cut in half, but their problems are no laughing matter.

4. Bournemouth complete the comeback

Sent off last weekend, the hero next game. Evanilson's rescinded red card allowed him to face Arsenal and he made the most of it by scoring to make it 2-1 just eight minutes after Huijsen's equaliser.

It came, unsurprisingly, from a set piece, with Evanilson muscling Odegaard out of the way at the far post to tap in. A VAR check for a handball ensued, although ultimately there was no 'factual evidence' that the ball had hit a Bournemouth arm during the goal.

5. Third in a two-horse race?

Arsenal's grip on second place has been loosening in recent weeks and after Manchester City's win on Friday, there's now just three points separating the pair. Arteta's men play - once their title rivals - at Anfield next weekend while City will be looking to continue their resurgence away to already relegated . The Gunners can't afford more slip-ups.

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