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Bournemouth score second-fastest goal in EPL history but Arsenal get last laugh with 97th minute winner

Bournemouth stunned the fans inside Emirates Stadium on Saturday with a goal straight from kickoff to take a 1-0 lead. Philip Billing scored just nine seconds into the game for the second-fastest goal in league history.

Arsenal would rally from 2-0 down in the second half and grab all three points with a 97th minute Reiss Nelson goal to win 3-2. What a game.

First, let’s look at how the game started.

Philip Billing goal vs Arsenal 

Shane Long holds the record for fastest goal in EPL history when he scored for Southampton just 7.69 seconds into the Saints’ clash with Watford back in 2019.

Things only got better for the Cherries in the second half when Marcos Senesi doubled the lead in the 57th minute. It looked like Bournemouth were going to pull off one of the big upsets of the season and do Manchester City a massive favor in the title race.

This season’s Arsenal team isn’t like its predecessors, however. The Gunners clawed their way back into the game with a pair of goals eight minutes apart. This team is all grit.

The decisive and exhilarating final chapter of the game came in the dying seconds when Arsenal had a corner kick at the end of stoppage time. Nelson completed the comeback with an emphatic exclamation point to send the Emirates Stadium into chaos.

What a moment for Nelson who has hardly seen the field this season after a thigh issue and being unable to break into the starting XI. This was the 23-year-old’s first EPL appearance since Nov. 12 and just his third in the league this season.

The victory keeps Arsenal five points clear of City and leaves Bournemouth in 19th. A draw would’ve seen the Cherries tied on points with 17th placed Leeds United.

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