Bournemouth, England, 04 January (H.S.): Declan Rice's two goals powered Arsenal to overcome a poor start and defeat Bournemouth 3-2 on their home ground on Saturday, extending their Premier League table lead at the top to six points.

Rice's Heroic Return

Returning after missing Aston Villa's 4-1 defeat due to injury, Rice gave Arsenal the lead early in the second half by outfoxing Dorjde Petrović. Then, on a brilliant set-up from substitute Bukayo Saka, he hammered his second goal.However, the match's beginning was not good for Arsenal.

In the 10th minute, defender Gabriel's rare mistake was fully capitalized on by Bournemouth, when their errant pass allowed Evanilson to easily score and give the host team the lead. But Gabriel made amends with an equalizer goal just six minutes later.

Thrilling Finish

After Rice's two goals, Arsenal appeared to have seized control of the match, but substitute Junior Cruipi outfoxed David Raya to score and make the contest thrilling again. Despite this, Mikel Arteta's team withstood the pressure to register a fifth consecutive win.

Table Shifts

With this victory, Arsenal now have 48 points from 20 matches. Aston Villa sit second with 42 points, while Manchester City, with one match less played, have 41 points. City will try to reduce the gap to four points with a win against Chelsea on Sunday.

Match Decider

Rice's performance proved decisive in the match. Recovering from a knee injury, Rice displayed superb control in midfield and scored his first league goals since November 1. His first goal came from a precise shot from outside the box on captain Martin Ødegaard's pass.

Arsenal's bench strength also proved noteworthy. Arteta brought on Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus, and Saka in the final 20 minutes, and Saka's presence laid the foundation for Rice's second goal.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth's troubles continue mounting. The team has now gone 11 league matches without a win, and transfer window departure of forward Antony Semenyo to Manchester City is also rumored. Semenyo, linked with Manchester City, waved to fans after the final whistle and headed to the tunnel.

Arsenal, long ensconced at the table's summit, once again demonstrated that this season it possesses the capacity to snatch victory even under pressure, making its claim for a first title since 2004 extremely strong.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar