Odegaard strikes twice as Arsenal beat Bournemouth to maintain perfect start

The win gives Arsenal the enviable record of being the only Premier League side so far to win their opening three matches of the season

Arsenal maintained their 100 per cent start to the Premier League season with a comfortable 3-0 victory at Bournemouth.

Captain Martin Odegaard struck twice inside the opening 11 minutes to put the Gunners in control on Saturday, with Bournemouth failing to register a single touch in the Arsenal box in the first half.

William Saliba netted his first goal for the club to extend that lead in the second half, while the influential Gabriel Jesus saw a strike ruled out for offside.

The win gives Arsenal the enviable record of being the only Premier League side so far to win their opening three matches of the season, although Manchester City can join them on nine points with victory at Newcastle United on Sunday.

Arsenal came flying out of the blocks with former City man Jesus skipping through the Bournemouth defence and teeing up Gabriel Martinelli, who was denied by Mark Travers, only for Odegaard to tap in the rebound.

Odegaard struck again six minutes later, smashing in with his left foot to cap off another fine move that saw Jesus touch Ben White’s cutback into the Arsenal captain’s path.

The Gunners extended their advantage swiftly after the restart, with Martinelli’s deep cross knocked square by Granit Xhaka to Saliba for a curling first-time finish into the top-right corner from just inside the box.

Jesus thought he had got into the act but was denied by the VAR, shown to be narrowly offside following Odegaard’s pass, and only his goal was missing as Arsenal remained on the front foot right through to the final whistle.

Arsenal are back in action at Emirates Stadium against Fulham on Saturday, while Bournemouth tackle Norwich City in the EFL Cup in midweek before travelling to Liverpool.

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