Bournemouth go 1-0 up vs Arsenal after 9.11 seconds with kick-off routine 'glitch'

It took Premier League strugglers Bournemouth just 9.11 seconds to open the scoring against league leaders Arsenal after Gary O'Neil's side produced one of the greatest kick-off routines in recent memory.

The Cherries took full advantage of some slack defending from the hosts on Saturday afternoon.

After some neat work down the right hand side from Dango Ouattara, the ball was worked to midfielder Philip Billing, who drifted inside to convert past Aaron Ramsdale with relative ease.

The Emirates understandably fell into a state of shock, with many Gunners fans expecting their team to extend their lead at the Premier League summit.

𝐆𝐎𝐀𝐋 | 𝖠𝗋𝗌𝖾𝗇𝖺𝗅 0-1 𝖡𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗇𝖾𝗆𝗈𝗎𝗍𝗁 (𝖡𝗂𝗅𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗀) pic.twitter.com/fHsbDF7e70

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) March 4, 2023

Billing's finish against Arsenal was the second fastest goal in Premier League history, with only Shane Long vs Watford in 2019 [7.69s] trumping his early effort in North London.

Ledley King [9.82s], Alan Shearer [10.52s] and Christian Eriksen [10.54s] follow the Danish international.

Here's how fans reacted to the goal.

One Arsenal supporter said: "We had the numbers but everyone was ball watching. Partey didn’t once look at Billing on his blind side and no communication from anyone. Worst goal we’ve conceded this season?"

Another commented: "We keep conceding soft goals. Especially at home. It's a concern"

A third added: "Gabriel has a tendency to drop a stinker like that once in a while."

9.11 - Phillip Billing's goal for Bournemouth against Arsenal was scored in 9 seconds, 11 milliseconds - the second-fastest goal scored in @premierleague history, after Shane Long for Southampton v Watford in April 2019 (7:69). Blocks. pic.twitter.com/ha22xb7Qev

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 4, 2023

Ahead of the clash against Bournemouth, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta urged his players to control their emotions during the Premier League title run-in.

"When you look at them every day you can feel how much they want it, how much they want to please our people," he said after their win against Everton.

"We just need to focus on what we can control and let the rest happen naturally because it is nothing else anybody can control."

At the time of writing, Arsenal are two points clear of reigning champions Manchester City, who earned all three points against Newcastle on Saturday with a 2-0 win.

Thoughts on the goal? Let us know in the comments.