By Sulaimon Jamiu
A Martin Odegaard brace within the opening 11 minutes set Arsenal on their way to the top of the fledgling Premier League table as they convincingly beat Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.
The Norwegian’s flying start put the visitors in firm control of proceedings throughout, and the lead was trebled six minutes after the restart, thanks to a fine William Saliba strike.
Mikel Arteta’s side put on a show for their travelling supporters as they recorded their third consecutive victory to go top of the league after beating Crystal Palace and Leicester City — the first time they have opened a Premier League season with three wins in 18 years.
Arsenal made the perfect start in the fifth minute when Jesus waltzed through the Bournemouth defence and offloaded to Gabriel Martinelli. The winger’s low shot was saved by goalkeeper Mark Travers, but Odegaard was on hand to slot home.
Odegaard grabbed his second goal just under six minutes later after a low cross from Ben White, taking advantage of more intelligent movement from Jesus to fire past Travers and put Arsenal in full control.
Arteta’s side rarely looked troubled in the first half and their fans were in buoyant mood as the team clicked through the gears with little resistance from newly promoted Bournemouth.
The hosts emerged with renewed purpose after the break, but that positivity disappeared when William Saliba produced a fine finish in the 54th minute, sweeping home a cut-back from Martinelli with his left boot to score his first goal for the club.
Jesus looked to have put further gloss on the victory in the 72nd minute when he latched on to a clever pass from Odegaard before dinking the ball over Travers, but it was ruled offside after a VAR review.
Bournemouth had an opportunity to cut the deficit in the 79th minute when Kieffer Moore rose to meet a cross, but goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale tipped away the striker’s looping header in acrobatic fashion.
The result ensures they continue their 100% start with nine points out of nine, and leapfrog Manchester City at the division’s summit for the time being.
