Three things we learned from Bournemouth 0 v 4 Arsenal – by Alan Alger

Odegaard’s other captaincy qualities shine through…

While posting on Martin Odegaard’s few weaknesses in his game last week, some fans (who might only be used to binary arguments in the media they consume) seemed to think I was saying he was something approaching a bad player for us.

Nonsense! I’d just like him to show a bit more steal in games where we have to battle, and up his assist rate.

One thing Odegaard definitely gets right is the lack of ego which will foster superb team-spirit, note how he paraded Charles Sagoe after the game at Brentford.

He did another great thing yesterday in consulting with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus for Kai Havertz to take our second penalty and get off the mark. The celebrations afterwards show the spirit and togetherness the team have and a large part of that is the no-ego Norwegian bringing everyone together.

The Havertz goal did resurface the debate on match-going versus internet fans and how the support (and sometimes lack of support) transfers to the players.

I was fortunate enough to be one of the lucky thousand or so in attendance, he had the full-backing and acknowledged this on his own Instagram channel afterwards.

There’s a strong balance to be struck from not allowing any one fan of the club to feel they are elevated over another, but also being welcoming and inclusive to all Gooners around the globe.

Whenever Arsenal post a message of support for important causes there are quite often voices of dissent from fans in certain countries which don’t reflect the real Arsenal way.

Abusing our own players tends to generate from those same areas. I always feel it’s rather bold to argue with match-going fans who contribute their hard-earned to the club.

I quite like the New Jersey Devils (NHL) and Seattle Seahawks (NFL) in US sports, but would not have the confidence to go in to debate others who may know better and attend their matches stateside.

The club would also do well not to elevate some fans above others closer to home; and I cite the mural on the new Emirates facades as something that should have been just a random crowd shot.

Ramsdale possibly hard done by…

Someone who has highlighted player abuse in interviews throughout the last year or so is Aaraon Ramsdale. Saying his initial view of the Arsenal faithful was shaped by posts on social media suggesting none of us were happy with his signing. He then felt the full-on love of the fans in the stadium to balance and thankfully discard his initial concern.

I feel the England stopper has been terribly hard done by in losing his place in the Premier League matches, and as much as I want to be welcoming to David Raya, there was materially no evidence in his performance at the Vitality Stadium which should have him convincingly ahead in the pecking order.

If anything, Ramsdale look a bit ahead of the Spaniard, who seems to have a little bit of trouble claiming low shots across his box – I’ve seen him spill or almost spill two in the last week. Ramsdale’s over exuberance might not have been welcome at Everton, but the Bournemouth crowd are quite tame and he should have returned yesterday.

Spread of goals needs to settle at a happy medium…

From our 84 goals in the Premier League last season defensive midfielders or defenders in our line-up registered 38 involvements – either scoring or assisting, and in some cases both.

This season, albeit in a small sample size of just seven league games, they have just three contributions from 14 goals. One of those being Ben White’s excellent header when the game was already won in Bournemouth.

Gary Neville may have said recently that we need a focal point up front to add goals, but the spread from around the team last season was used as evidence to deflect his criticism.

Last season Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah scored a combined 15 goals and assisted just 7, which is a poor return for a side who have as much of the ball as we do.

Eddie’s contribution in winning two penalties on the south coast was valuable, but we are already looking at figures of three goals and zero assists from the duo after a relatively easy start to the Premier League season.

The midfield seems to be shouldering the burden this season and it’s great to score four without reply in an away game. But I’d like to see the forwards step-up before we start to rely too much on a select set of players. Five of our opening 14 goals have been from the spot and we need to score from open play a bit more to convince the critics.