Arsenal player ratings vs Bournemouth: The Premier League's finest! Deadly Declan Rice produces midfield masterclass as Gabriel atones for his moment of madness

Declan Rice scored two superb second-half goals as Arsenal came from behind to seal a dramatic 3-2 success at Bournemouth and move seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table. Rice, who was a doubt leading up to the game after missing the midweek victory against Aston Villa due to a knee injury, showed once again how crucial he is to Mikel Arteta's table-toppers with his decisive strikes which ensured the Gunners kicked off 2026 with a win.

With Manchester City not hosting Chelsea until Sunday, this was a great opportunity for Arsenal to extend their lead at the top of the table and put some real pressure on their title rivals, but they got off to the worst possible start when a horrible error from Gabriel gifted Evanilson a chance he couldn't miss on 10 minutes.

The Brazilian centre-back responded superbly, however, thumping home an equaliser soon after to haul his team level before Rice struck with two excellent right-foot finishes in the space of 17 second-half minutes to put the visitors in control.

Eli Junior Kroupi then crashed an excellent strike past David Raya to reduce the deficit and set up a grandstand finish, but the visitors held on for a crucial win.

GOAL rates Arsenal's players from the Vitality Stadium...

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Goalkeeper & Defence
David Raya (6/10):
Left in no man's land by Gabriel's mistake. Distribution was good, as was his handling under pressure, but seemed to react a bit late to Junior Kroupi's goal.
Jurrien Timber (8/10):
Solid as always. Made one vital clearance at the back post soon after Rice's goal.
William Saliba (7/10):
Looked as surprised as anyone at Gabriel's error. Fairly comfortable evening after that.
Gabriel Magalhaes (7/10):
Calamitous error to gift Bournemouth the lead, but responded brilliantly by firing in the equaliser soon after.
Piero Hincapie (7/10):
Tough task facing Semenyo but stuck to it well. Looked to get forward when he could.

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Midfield
Martin Zubimendi (6/10):
Arsenal's disjointed first half was summed up by his display. Unusually sloppy with the ball. Not his best performance.
Declan Rice (9/10):
Back in the side after missing the Villa win and produced yet another man-of-the-match display. Brilliant finish to make it 2-1 early in the second half and then added another 20 minutes from time.
Martin Odegaard (7/10):
Lovely play to set up Rice's first goal and was heavily involved in his second. Third Premier League game in a row he has produced either a goal or an assist. Getting back towards his best.
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Attack
Noni Madueke (6/10):
Looked very lively early on and it was his run into the box that led to Gabriel's equaliser. Faded a bit as the game went on.
Viktor Gyokeres (6/10):
Couple of nice flicks, but kept very quiet. Wasn't a threat, although did well to worry the Bournemouth defence in the build-up to Rice's goal.
Gabriel Martinelli (5/10):
Did find some space over on the left at times, but his end product wasn't good enough.

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Subs & Manager
Gabriel Jesus (6/10):
Worked hard and looked to hold the ball up under pressure.
Bukayo Saka (7/10):
Had only been on the pitch a few minutes when he raced onto Odegaard's pass and picked out Rice perfectly to make it 3-1.
Leandro Trossard (6/10):
Couldn't really get into the game after his introduction, a few slack touches.
Mikel Merino (N/A):
Replaced Odegaard for the closing stages.
Mikel Arteta (6/10):
Made some changes in attack and would probably have liked to see the players who came in make more of an impact.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Midfield

Attack

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Subs & Manager