Arsenal stun Bournemouth in 3-2 thrilling fightback

Arsenal recovered from conceding the second-fastest goal in Premier League history as Reiss Nelson’s stoppage-time strike gave the Premier League leaders a thrilling 3-2 win over Bournemouth after title rivals Manchester City beat Newcastle 2-0 on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta’s side was trailing by two goals with just over half an hour left.

But the Gunners showed they can cope with the pressure of the title race with a remarkable comeback that kept them five points ahead of second-placed City.

“I’m incredibly happy. It was just mad. It was a really special win and it took until the last second to earn it,” Arteta said.

Arsenal hadn’t even touched the ball when Philip Billing gave bottom-of-the-table Bournemouth the lead after just 9.11 seconds with a clinical finish from inside the Gunners area.

The quickest goal in Premier League history was scored by Shane Long after 7.69 seconds for Southampton against Watford in 2019.

Arsenal fell further behind in the 57th minute as Marcos Senesi escaped Thomas Partey to glance a header past Aaron Ramsdale from a corner.

Partey made amends for his slack marking five minutes later when he reduced the deficit with a close-range finish from Emile Smith-Rowe’s header.

Underlining their desire to win a first title since 2004, Arsenal seized the momentum and equalized through Ben White’s powerful finish from Nelson’s cross in the 70th minute.

Nelson completed Arsenal’s incredible revival in the seventh minute of stoppage time when the substitute produced a superb finish from 20 yards to spark scenes of wild celebration all around the Emirates Stadium.

“They never gave up. We want to stay there (at the top) for as long as possible,” Arteta said.