Arsenal player ratings vs Bournemouth

Declan Rice celebrates with his Arsenal teammates after scoring against Bournemouth (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Arsenal extended their lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table with a hard-fought 3-2 victory at Bournemouth.

The Gunners found themselves 1-0 down early on, but fought back to lead 3-1 in the second half thanks to a brace from Declan Rice.

Yet the home side finished nervously by taking a point away, although Arsenal were still just about strong enough to maintain their lead and three points.

Read on for our full Arsenal player ratings…

Arsenal player ratings vs Bournemouth

David Raya – 6 – Two goals conceded, so Raya won’t have been the happiest this season, although in all honesty Bournemouth’s second goal was an absolute screamer, so few goalkeepers would have stood a chance with that.

Jurrien Wood – 7 – Probably Arsenal’s best defender in a slightly fragile package, Timber did his job well against the threat of Antoine Semenyo and advanced the ball well as he so often does.

Piero Hincapie – 6.5 – Still adapting to English football, Hincapie was quite solid today, even if he was not always 100% convincing against an admittedly strong Cherries team.

Gabriel Magalhaes – 6.5 – A difficult performance in summary! Gabriel made a terrible mistake in the 10th minute to give Bournemouth the lead, but six minutes later he scored a well-taken equalizer and was reasonably steady and solid after that.

Jurrien Timber and Gabriel Magalhaes (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Guillaume Saliba – 6.5 – Decent for Arsenal, although not quite at their best as Arsenal conceded two goals, which is a bit rare for them when their first choice centre-backs are both fully fit.

Martin Zubimendi – 7 – Well tidy with the ball, Zubimendi controlled the game well as he does so often.

Declan Rice – 9 – Two superbly scored goals, this was Declan Rice at his best, with this fine effort below making it 2-1 to the Gunners early in the second half…

Arsenal reverses the situation!

Declan Rice shoots home! ? pic.twitter.com/yohVWA8Crj

– Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 3, 2026

Martin Odegaard – 8 – Silky and deft, Martin Odegaard was a joy to watch again this evening as he continued his recent revival, producing a nifty assist for Rice’s opening goal.

Noni Maduyke – 7.5 – Got a rare start against Bukayo Saka and looked lively on the right, notably with a superb skill to help set up Gabriel’s equalizer.

Gabriel Martinelli – 6 – Frustratingly inconsistent, this was one of Gabriel Martinelli’s worst games, with the Brazilian winger simply unable to influence things or make the right decisions at key moments.