Arsenal 5-1 Bournemouth: Mesut Ozil masterclass helps keep Unai Emery’s side in top four

As Alexandre Lacazette wheeled away to celebrate Arsenal’s fifth goal, the chant from the terraces came loud and clear.

‘Tottenham Hotspur, we’re coming for you,’ they teased and on this evidence, Mauricio Pochettino’s side have cause for worry. Saturday lunchtime’s north London Derby at Wembley now has more at stake than local pride.

This victory, the biggest home win of Unai Emery’s debut season, kept Arsenal in the Champions League places and cut the gap to Tottenham to four points. It also marked an eighth straight Premier League home win and a sense of gathering momentum emerges after a winter wobble.

Mesut Ozil put Arsenal into the lead after four minutes after he exquisitely beat Artur Boruc after Sead Kolasinac’s deft pass 

Ozil wheels away in celebration as the Bournemouth players stand in disbelief after the German playmaker’s opening strike

Ozil has been out of favour under Arsenal boss Unai Emery but made a significant contribution against Bournemouth

He was mobbed by his team-mates after his goal with the Arsenal supporters looking on in awe of the 30-year-old’s finish

On a night when the jigsaw came together for Emery, this ought, on the surface at least, to have encouraged Mesut Ozil. A starter in a Premier League game once more, a goal inside three minutes, an assist inside half-an-hour. For the first time in a long time, the German wore a wide smile, the supporters sang his name and the thumb-sucking celebration came back out to play.

Yet when the team-sheet emerges an hour before Arsenal kick off at Wembley against Tottenham on Saturday lunchtime, Emery will almost certainly serve another reminder of Ozil’s standing in the Arsenal dressing room. This is not only due to the qualities of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, scorer of the second and creator of the third for Laurent Koscielny and fourth for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but also because the manager does not trust Ozil on the biggest stage.

Since Boxing Day, Ozil has only started home matches against Cardiff, Bate Borisov and now Bournemouth. This tells its own story. For context, Eddie Howe’s team have now lost nine consecutive Premier League away matches, conceding 28 goals. ‘We can’t kid ourselves that today was acceptable,’ Howe said.

Ozil used his craft and vision to help set up Arsenal’s second goal, which put them in total control at the Emirates

After being set up by Ozil, winger Henrik Mkhitaryan was able to calmly finish off Arsenal’s move from 12 yards out

Mkhitaryan and Ozil join each other for the celebrations after they combined to put Arsenal 2-0 up over Bournemouth

Arsenal manager Unai Emery delivers instructions to his players during a profitable first half in north London

Bournemouth forward Lys Mousset scored from close range after 30 minutes to halve Arsenal’s first-half lead

Bernd Leno (left) and Laurent Koscielny react after Mousset’s strike, which gave Bournemouth a way back into the game

Mousset and team-mate Jordan Ibe celebrate after Bournemouth had taken advantage of slack defending to score

So Emery has read the Ozil situation adeptly, knowing he terrorises inferiors but the greater intensity of Mkhitaryan, Alex Iwobi or Aaron Ramsey is needed against superiors. Near confirmation of Mkhitaryan’s starting place at Wembley came when was was replaced on the 64th minute, while Ozil played out the match.

Asked how he could drop Ozil or Mkhitaryan, Emery said: ‘We want to get our identity being competitive first. Big intensity and aggression with and without the ball.’

By now, Arsenal supporters will be able to read between the lines on that one. Ozil was not the only Arsenal player to return from the shadows. In the case of Carl Jenkinson, here came a first starting appearance at the Emirates Stadium since December 2013.

Ozil, however, took the acclaim. He produces a handful of these performances per season, those days when he reminds the world of the talent that carried Germany to World Cup glory and persuaded both Real Madrid and Arsenal to construct teams around his gifts. Ozil had two major openings in the first half and turned both opportunities into certainty. In the third minute, Saed Kolasniac drove inside from the left flank, Ozil ghosted unchecked into the penalty area and the German had the time to calm himself before striking the ball into the ground and over goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

Laurent Koscielny was able to move into a dangerous position inside the Bournemouth box to head past Boruc

Nacho Monreal (centre) joins in the celebrations as Koscielny, the French defender, can barely believe his good fortune

Twelve minutes after Koscielny scored, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored Arsenal’s fourth to put them well in front 

Aubameyang watches as the ball goes across the line before beginning his run towards the corner flag at the Emirates

Yet Arsenal remain a peculiar side that can bewitch opponents but still leave the back door unlocked. Ryan Fraser sped in behind and but was denied by Bernd Leno before Bournemouth offered up a gift of their own to Arsenal.

Only Adam Smith will know quite why he played a sideways pass across his own half. Mkhitaryan raced onto it, slid a pass to Ozil to his right and the German returned a perfect ball to Mkhitaryan to stab in his second goal in two games.

Game over – or so it seemed. Matteo Guendouzi has had a terrific first season but on this occasion, the 19-year-old erred. Receiving the ball on the edge of the penalty area from Leno, Guendouzi was on the half-turn but uncertain of his surroundings. Dan Gosling pressed high, pinched the ball and squared for Lys Mousset to turn into the unguarded goal.

All of a sudden, Arsenal were more uncertain. Sokratis seemed particularly rattled, crashing in with a poor scissor challenge on Fraser and earning a booking.

The interval offered Arsenal the chance to regroup and Arsenal were rapidly on the front foot. Mkhitaryan dashed down the right side, cut the ball across goal and Koscielny’s goalbound effort was diverted in by Chris Mepham.

The mauling that threatened to break out in the first period now materialised. Ozil struck the post and then Mkhitaryan split the Bournemouth defence with a searing outside-of-the-boot pass and Aubameyang raced rounded the keeper to score. Substitute Lacazette claimed the fifth via a delicate curling free-kick.

Guendouzi goes towards Aubameyang after Arsenal’s fourth goal as Bournemouth’s players look thoroughly dejected

Alexandre Lacazette opens his arms wide after scoring Arsenal’s fifth goal of the evening as Bournemouth collapsed

Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake gets ahead of Arsenal’s Henrik Mkhitaryan as the pair go for the ball early in the game

Bournemouth’s Ibe attempts to move the ball deep into Arsenal’s half but he is closely watched by Matteo Guendouzi

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe shows his frustration during the first half as he tries to get instructions to his players