adminARSENAL legend Ian Wright has praised Jordan Zemura and his Bournemouth teammates for their gritty defensive performance despite their heartbreak 2-3 loss to the Gunners at the weekend.
In what could be the most significant comeback story of the English Premiership this season, high-flying Arsenal stormed back from two goals down to beat the Cherries 3-2.
The winner was secured by a goal, with the last kick of the match, from a man who could have been Zemura’s Warriors teammate had he chosen to play for Zimbabwe.
Reiss Nelson, whose father is a Zimbabwean, fired home the winner with a beauty in the final second at the Emirates.
The 3-2 win for Arsenal put them five points clear of Manchester City and left Cherries bottom of the pile.
Reflecting on the Cherries going 2-0 up, Wright, in his role as pundit on BBC’s Match of the Day, said: “That was a sad time for me!
“To be fair, Bournemouth have to get a lot of credit, because they defended very well.”
Discussing the comeback, Wright added: “You can see the amount of space they’re leaving for Emile Smith Rowe and then once he gets that header in, (Antoine) Semenyo is not tight on Partey (to make it 2-1) and then that was the start of it.
“(Jaidon) Anthony has kind of taken his eye off the ball and they got tired.
“They did get tired because they defended so well. Ben White, that is a brilliant finish from there, on the volley (to make it 2-2)
“Now Arsenal are going for it but Bournemouth, with all the numbers in there, defended very well.
“I don’t blame Gary O’Neil (Cherries manager) for saying they deserved something.
“I was thinking it’s not going to happen, we’re not going to get anything from the corner because they’re too big.
“And then this happens, on his weaker foot, what a wonderful strike from Reiss.
“It was amazing.”
Asked how he was feeling after the final whistle, O’Neil told the Daily Echo: “Bitterly disappointed at this moment, as are the players, as I’m sure are the supporters.
“To put in that much work and effort and to push the team that are five points clear at the top of the league at their stadium that close, was a huge, huge effort from everybody.” – Sports Reporter/Bournemouth Echo.
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