3 positives & negatives from Arsenal's 3-0 home win over Bournemouth
• Officiating controversies mount
• Defensive excellence continues
By Jak Netting
![Arsenal FC v AFC Bournemouth - Premier League Arsenal FC v AFC Bournemouth - Premier League](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5757,h_3238,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/GettyImages/mmsport/209/01hx2wbbdqq6mm2ph35n.jpg)
Positive #2: Arsenal maintain title fight
Arsenal know that they likely require a near-perfect end to the season if they are to have any chance of lifting their first Premier League title in 20 years, and this result was a huge step towards that.
The Gunners are already reliant on a slip-up from Manchester City, and had they dropped any more points, any remaining hope would have been all but lost.
After statement victories in recent weeks against rivals Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, beating an in-form Bournemouth 3-0 is a huge result for the belief within the club, and is certainly a 'job done' moment - for this game at least.
Negative #2: Officiating controversy at the forefront again
I have lost track of how many times I have listed officiating as a negative in these articles, but I am once again left with no choice given the events of this game.
Whether it be Ryan Christie's high challenge on Saka, which should have seen red, Havertz's penalty, which drew outrage online, or Solanke's foul on Raya - there were plenty of contentious decisions in the game.
For what it is worth, not that anybody asked, I believe that of the three I have mentioned, only the lack of a sending-off for Christie's foul on Saka was incorrect, even if the other two were soft.
But how, even after a video assistant referee (VAR) check, a studs-up challenge just below the knee, where the player gets none of the ball, is not deemed a red card offence, I have genuinely no idea.
It is just the latest in a long list (or, in fairness, probably a novel by now) of officiating errors, and the question has to be asked as to what the point of increased technology is if incorrect decisions are still rife in the sport.
Continued on the next slide...