Arsenal 3-1 Bournemouth: Alexis Sanchez double gives Gunners victory

Full-time: Arsenal 3-1 Bournemouth

Arsenal return to winning ways thanks to Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean was the star of the show for the Gunners, who will be relived to have won a hard-fought game at the Emirates.

Until next time, folks...

GOAL: Arsenal 3-1 Bournemouth (Sanchez)

All over in north London! A break involving Giroud, Ozil and then Sanchez gives the Gunners all three points.

The German rolled the ball across the six-yard box and the Chilean could not miss from there.

Gosling becomes the fifth Bournemouth player to go into the book. The away side are looking tired now.

Less than five minutes left, and Arsenal appear to be pretty comfortable at the moment. What's more, Giroud has just spurned a decent chance after he was expertly found by Ramsey.

I've just seen another shot of Jack Wilshere in the crowd and I couldn't help but think, I wonder what he is feeling right now. Mixed loyalties? You would imagine so.

Brad Smith is booked shortly before being replaced. Time is running out for the Cherries, who have given a very good account of themselves so far this afternoon.

Bournemouth almost find a leveller, but a goal-bound header from Afobe is brilliantly repelled by Petr Cech! The ex-Gunner appeared destined to score there.

Bournemouth plead for a penalty against Nacho Monreal, who appeared to handle the ball in the area. Again, the ref says no.

This game is alive and kicking despite Arsenal dominating the early stages of the half. Ramsey and Giroud are coming on for Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott respectively.

Bournemouth's big-money summer signing Jordan Ibe is coming on. He still has a lot to prove and has yet to score for the club. I'm sure he'd love to change that this afternoon.

Around 20 minutes left at the Emirates Stadium.

Wilson comes off and the former Arsenal youngster Afobe has come on. What a story we have in the offing there.

Having said that, Arsenal are dominating for the time being.

Arsenal almost add a third, but Sanchez' final ball is just - and I mean just - out of the reach of the onrushing Ozil. The Gunners are pushing and pushing for another goal.

Moments later, Sanchez is booked for a late tackle on Arter. The Chilean knew that was a naughty tackle, too, judging by his reaction.

GOAL: Arsenal 2-1 Bournemouth (Walcott)

The Gunners retake the lead! A rare header from Walcott from a centre from Nacho Monreal has made the difference on this occasion.

The England international had a simple task thanks to the Spaniard's pinpoint cross. That's Walcott's ninth goal of the season, too.

Arsenal are clearly trying to up the tempo in the early stages of the half. It hasn't led to any guilt-edge chances as yet, though.

Away from the Emirates for a second, a reminder that we're also live blogging the game at Old Trafford this afternoon. The team news from that match will filter through in the next few minutes.

An early freekick from Mesut Ozil drifts over from the right side, but no Arsenal player is able to flick it goalwards. The German looks frustrated with his teammates.

Back under way at the Emirates. Let's hope the second period is as entertaining as the first.

Half-time: Arsenal 1-1 Bournemouth

All level at the break in what has been a thrilling game. There were a few boos at the whistle, which, I assume, is in reference to the referee, rather than Arsenal's performance.

Back for more in a bit, folks.

Alexis Sanchez almost scores his second in the dying moments of the half! The Chilean finds himself at an acute angle, but fires a thunderous right-footed effort against the bar. What a goal that would have been.

Monreal is caught late by Arter. No card is awarded but he is a very lucky boy, because that was reckless.

Anyway, we're playing three extra minutes - time for a goal? We' about to find out.

Less than five minutes to go until the break now, and this is developing into a fascinating match. Arsenal dominated the early exchanges, but the Cherries could easily be in front.

Meanwhile, Walcott is crowded out in the penalty area amid calls for a handball against Smith. Again, the ref is not interested.

A rare Arsenal attacks ends with Elneny hitting a shot over the bar. Moments later, Sanchez and Ozil combine, but again, no luck for the Gunners.

This is slightly better from the hosts, though, who stuttered in the immediate aftermath of conceding.

Bournemouth are the better side for the moment and Eddie Howe will be thinking they deserve to be in the lead. You can sense tension among the home crowd, most of whom would've expected a one-sided win at the Emirates.

Arsenal are getting opened up all too easily for Arsene Wenger's liking. The hosts started the game impressively, but look shaky now.

From their latest attack, Harry Arter's effort is well saved by Cech in the Arsenal goal.

And now Adam Smith has missed a sitter! The ball is played over from the left flank and somehow, Smith heads the ball over when he is totally unmarked.

This is already turning into a cracking game. By the way, Mustafi, not Monreal, was the man booked in the aftermath of the penalty.

Arsenal 1-1 Bournemouth (Wilson)

He sends Cech the wrong way and the away side are level! Wilson calmly rolls in the ball into the net.

On reflection, though, that penalty was pretty generous.

Penalty to Bournemouth!

Monreal brings down Wilson in the box and the ref points to the spot! Monreal is booked and Wilson is to take the kick himself...

Bournemouth are enjoying a bit of a better spell in the last few minutes, without really posing much of a threat to the Arsenal goal.

Oh, here's a bit of a setback for the Gunners. Debuchy has gone down with what appears to be a hamstring injury and he cannot continue. Gabriel will be the man to replace him at the back.

Now Sanchez goes down in the penalty area, before pleading for a spot-kick. Nothing doing on this occasion, though.

There was a slight touch. But the contact was outside the box.

Arsenal 1-0 Bournemouth (Sanchez)

The Gunners lead - and it's a gift for Alexis Sanchez! Christmas has come early for the Chilean, who latches onto a misplaced back-pass from Cook, before rounding the keeper and finding the net.

Dreadful, dreadful defending. Almost surreal, in fact, and Eddie Howe must be furious.

Arsenal are now starting to circulate the ball with some style. Getting into their rhythm, the Gunners.

Oxlade-Chamberlain goes darting up the left side and is hacked down by Francis. A yellow card and a freekick in a dangerous position.

From the resulting freekick, the ball reaches Elneny, whose effort is well blocked by a Bournemouth defender.

It's a decent start to the game from both sides. Eddie Howe's side are not looking to sit too deep, as most teams tend to do at the Emirates.

Arsenal almost take an early lead through Mesut Ozil. The ball is played back to German near the penalty spot, but his right-footed effort is well blocked by a defender.

A decent start to the game, though, with Adam Smith playing in a more advanced role than usual for the visitors.

We're under way at the Emirates, then. Jack Wilshere is sat alongside Danny Welbeck in the stands, by the way.

Pre-match thoughts

Eddie Howe: "We are going to be at our very best, it's a very tough assignment.

"You have to get the balance right but you can't change who you are. This season, we have had that belief that we can win in every game but you need some luck. I back the players to give a very good performance."

As a reminder, there's plenty of sports news to follow on IBTimes UK today. We've already had the second day's play of the third Test match between England and India in Mohali.

Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton is currently chasing another world title in the final race of the Formula One season in Abu Dhabi, while Manchester United and West Ham United face-off later this afternoon. And you can keep up-to-date with all of that with us.

In the more immediate future, it's all eyes on the Emirates, where Arsenal will soon walk out to face Bournemouth.

The Emirates Stadium is starting to fill up and make no mistake, the home fans will accept nothing less than three points this afternoon. If Arsenal are to win the Premier League this season, they need to winning games like this.

Arsenal will be eager to get their title challenge back on track this afternoon after a few underwhelming performances. And to be honest, they may have found the perfect opponents in Bournemouth. That must remain to be seen, though.

Away from today's game for a moment, Hector Bellerin is reportedly expected to return to light training next week after being ruled out by Arsene Wenger for four weeks ahead of the Gunners' draw against Manchester United.

The right-back, who recently signed a new long-term deal with the club, was expected to be out for at least a month after damaging ankle ligaments during the final stages of Arsenal's 1-1 draw against Tottenham.

But The Sun suggests Bellerin is ahead of schedule in his recovery and will return to light training next week before joining up with the rest of the squad seven days later.

So, Debuchy is back in the Arsenal side and Aaron Ramsey finds himself on the bench. Still, it is a very attack-minded, fearsome-looking line-up named by Arsene Wenger, who will know that three points are a must this afternoon.

Breaking team news

The top line for Arsenal is that Mathieu Debuchy is making his first start of the season for the Gunners.

Arsenal: Cech, Debuchy, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Elneny, Xhaka, Walcott, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanchez

Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Gabriel, Coquelin, Iwobi, Ramsey, Giroud

Bournemouth: Federici, A.Smith, Francis, Cook, B. Smith, Ake, Gosling, Arter, Stanislas, King, Wilson

Subs: Allsop, Mings, Ibe, Fraser, Pugh, Mousset, Afobe

Stand by for the team news from the Emirates...

Ahead of the game, Arsene Wenger has made it clear that Jack Wilshere has a future at Arsenal and the north London giants are keen to tie him down to a new deal.

The England international is currently on a season-long loan at Bournemouth and will have just one year left on his contract when he returns in the summer of 2017. But Wenger has made his position on the situation clear.

"If Jack comes back to his right level, he will play for us. If he wants to go somewhere else, you have to respect that as well. I give you my feeling, I want him back. And he always said that he's an Arsenal man. If you think about yourself, you go where you like to be," Wenger said, as quoted by ESPN FC.

"The word loyalty is not even the right word. He's always said he's an Arsenal man. So that's the best way to show that. In his case it was a bit more of a human case than a calculated financial case. Because he has been educated here since he was 8 or 9 years old. He has gone for years through difficult periods when he didn't play.

"And I felt honestly that a guy who has been educated here, if he has another season where he doesn't play because I don't give him the chance to play because I there are some players who are fitter than him, it would be unfair. That's why I thought it was not a mathematical decision."

Pre-match thoughts

Eddie Howe: "[Wilshere] will be a big miss for us. I feel Jack has got better each week. When I look back at the last game against Stoke, he was excellent for us and was the key link between midfield and attack.

"Also his defensive displays for me have been superb and are undervalued, how good he is without the ball, how clever he is with the positions he takes up to protect our midfield."

Pre-match thoughts

Arsene Wenger: "I believe we have to find our game back [after the PSG match]. We didn't lose but if you do not create, that will not last. It's important that we find our simplicity, speed and pacy combinations back.

"We missed that fluency, and that security in our decision-making that made us dangerous in the final third a little bit. That is what is at stake for us."

Preview

Bournemouth, meanwhile, are likely to be without Artur Boruc and Andrew Surman for their game against the Gunners because of injuries, while Jack Wilshere is ineligible for the fixture.

This is the fourth time that Eddie Howe's men will go head-to-head against the north London club, having lost the last three, conceding seven goals, without scoring once in the process.

Preview

Arsenal come into the game on the back of a hard-fought draw against Paris Saint-Germain in the group stages of the Champions League.

The game ended 2-2, allowing PSG to go top on away goals and should the Gunners fail to better the French club's result on the final match day, the north London club will qualify to the round of 16 as the second-placed team.

Meanwhile, their last two league games were against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, both of which ended in a 1-1 draw. A win today is crucial, therefore.

Good afternoon and welcome to IBTimes UK's live coverage of Arsenal vs Bournemouth.

The Gunners currently occupy fourth in the Premier League table, six points behind Antonio Conte's Chelsea team. That means they cannot afford any slip ups today.

Pre-match build-up and team news will becoming your way shortly, so stay tuned...