It had been almost an entire year since Arsenal last completed a comeback victory in the Premier League. Mikel Arteta acknowledged then that “we had to suffer more than we wanted” but the result was what it often is now: three points for the Gunners.
Their 22 Premier League victories in 36 games since had generally been delivered from a position of superiority and ascendancy. Arsenal not winning from behind is hardly a glaring flaw, more a reflection on how their mastery of the process and innate control of matches rarely gives them an opportunity to showcase that side of their game.
There might have been a fear that Bournemouth could change that. The Cherries had taken the lead in high-scoring draws with both Manchester United and Chelsea recently, having done the double over Arsenal last season. No other Premier League club’s games have featured more goals this season than Andoni Iraola’s chaos merchants.
So when Gabriel’s blind and square pass was intercepted and punished by Evanilson after ten minutes, the stage was set. This was a test of Arsenal’s resolve, character and mentality, of their ability to dig deep and respond in kind.
It was the sort of examination those pundits who have still not updated their cliched bingo card from the latter days of Arsene Wenger would have relished discussing how Arsenal would collapse, implode and get in their own way like they always do.
And they passed.
For the second time this season, Gabriel assumed that personal responsibility having been accountable for Arsenal’s concession of the goal he would later equalise.
There was more drama and a longer wait for redemption against Newcastle in September, when Gabriel’s stoppage-time winner erased thoughts of how Nick Woltemade beat him to open the scoring.
In this case it took the Brazilian five minutes to atone, lashing in after good work from Noni Madueke and a couple of shots had unsettled already the least stable of defences.
Mikel Arteta referred to it as “the next step of the team in terms of individual personality and presence,” praising Gabriel for “the way he reacted” after “a big mistake”.
“And it tells a lot about how much we’ve grown and matured over the years. And the team found a way to a massive win,” the manager added.
That much was, in fairness, more down to the input of Declan Rice, who benefited most from some more fine work from the burgeoning influence of captain Martin Odegaard.
The Norwegian’s lay-off for Rice’s first goal, a crisp strike from the edge of the box after Viktor Gyokeres had managed to occupy the literal entire Bournemouth defence from a single midfield header, was sublime in its simplicity and execution.
But Odegaard’s pass to find the run of Bukayo Saka, whose cutback allowed Rice to double a well-earned Arsenal lead, was exceptional.
Saka had been on the pitch for all of four minutes or so as the replacement for Noni Madueke, who marked his first start since early December with a vital contribution to the first Arsenal goal.
It only underlined their absurd strength in depth and attacking variation, the sort which makes them strong title favourites.
When combined with a resilience and capacity to withstand even those few instances of weakness and error which Arsenal now allow themselves, they can be mightily difficult to look past as contenders to win it all.
That isn’t how it works, especially in tournament football but not least across a league campaign. Arteta will know that is still the yardstick against which he will be judged, and harshly. But there really don’t seem to be many obstacles left that Arsenal are not uniquely prepared for.