JAKARTA - Midfielder Declan Rice scored a brace that led Arsenal to a 3-2 victory over Bournemouth in an English Premier League match at the Vitality Stadium, Sunday, January 4, 2026 WIB. The match ended with a protest by the players and Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola to referee Chris Kavanagh.
Rice has emerged as an indispensable pillar of Arsenal. He is the main strength of Arsenal who are chasing the Premier League title for the first time after a 21-year title drought.
Yes, Arsenal last won the league title in 2004 when still managed by legendary manager Arsene Wenger. At that time, Arsenal also confirmed as The Invisibles. The team, which was strengthened by a row of the best players, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira, won the league without ever losing.
The unbeaten record is indeed still unbroken. Even Arsenal itself can't match it because it has lost twice in the league trophy hunt this season. However, this North London club has hope to end the long wait.
Rice also played a big role in winning the crucial match at the opponent's home. Not only that, Rice has also helped strengthen Arsenal's defense when experiencing a crisis in the defense.
Manager Mikael Arteta was forced to play the England national team midfielder as a full back because Arsenal ran out of stock of defenders who were injured during the match against Brighton and Hove Albion. As a result, Rice even played an important role in guarding David Raya's goal and the Gunners won 2-1.
Now, he scored a brace which made Arsenal stronger at the top of the table with 48 points. The victory over Bournemouth made Arsenal six points ahead of Aston Villa, who are in second place after winning 3-1 over Nottingham Forest.
Meanwhile, Manchester City, who dropped to third place with 41 points, will face Chelsea in a big match at the Etihad, Monday, January 5, 2026 WIB.
If Arsenal firmly establishes its position at the top, on the other hand, Bournemouth is still struggling at the bottom of the table. They are ranked 15th with 23 points.
In the match, Arsenal was surprised by Bournemouth's quick goal which was caused by the fatal mistake of defender Gabriel Magalhaes. Receiving the ball from goalkeeper David Raya, the Brazilian national team defender intended to pass the ball to his teammate Jurrien Timber.
It's just that there was an opponent, Evanilson, who stood in front of the goal. Receiving a mature ball from Gabriel who made the mistake, Evanilson did not have any trouble shooting into the empty goal.
The goal that was created when the match was only 10 minutes into the game gave Bournemouth a 1-0 lead. However, Arsenal was able to quickly bounce back. They immediately pressed the opponent's defense.
As a result, Gabriel paid for the mistake by scoring a goal that tied the score six minutes later. The goal started with Noni Madueke's penetration, who then fired a shot into the goal.
However, Madueke's kick could be thwarted so that a mess was created. Gabriel, who received the rebound ball, immediately kicked the ball without being able to be stopped by goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic.
This was Gabriel's 20th goal since joining Arsenal in 2020. He also became the most productive defender Arsenal has ever had. The score changed to 1-1 for both teams and lasted until the first half ended.
Entering the second half, Arsenal took the initiative to attack. The offensive game of the team that has never won the Champions League produced results when Rice successfully welcomed captain Martin Odegaard's assist in the 56th minute. His shot from outside the penalty area gave Arsenal a 2-1 lead.
Rice's goal made Arsenal more aggressive in pressing the home team's defense. Moreover, they were able to dominate the game and take the lead in ball possession.
After failing to take advantage of a number of opportunities, Rice finally scored the second goal that solidified Arsenal's lead in the 71st minute. The goal started with an assist from Bukayo Saka who came on as a substitute and made Arsenal leave their opponents with a score of 3-1.
Even though they had conceded three times, Bournemouth did not give up. They tried to get back up. As a result, Bournemouth did not take long to reduce the gap when Eli Kroupi broke the deadlock in the 76th minute.
However, the host's efforts to add one goal to get points at home have not yet borne fruit.
In the last seconds of the match, when Antonine Semenyo was under pressure and the forward was about to shoot towards the goal, referee Kavanagh blew the final whistle.
Kavanagh's decision did not stop Bournemouth from protesting. The reason is that the referee ended the match when one team attacked. The players also surrounded the referee. Not to mention Iraola who protested.
"It's unusual to end a game like this. In the first half, we also faced this situation. Honestly, it's really disappointing," Iraola told The Sun.
However, Bournemouth could not do anything because the referee's decision did not change and the match ended in a 3-2 defeat.
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