Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan put on an Emirates masterclass as Arsenal thrashed Bournemouth to retain their place in the Premier League top four.

With fellow hopefuls Chelsea and Manchester United also securing victories, the Gunners stayed fourth – but this was in much more emphatic style as they eased to a 5-1 win over a hapless Cherries side.

Eddie Howe's men have now lost their last nine league games away from the Vitality Stadium and were second-best for much of the night as Ozil and Mkhitaryan ran riot.

The pair scored the first two goals before Lys Mousset pulled one back for Bournemouth – only for Laurent Koscielny, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette to seal a comfortable win with second-half strikes.

While Bournemouth's struggles on the road continue, Arsenal have made their home something of a fortress and have won their last eight at the Emirates.

Those recent records would continue as Arsenal capped an early start by taking the lead through Ozil.

The German was picked out by Sead Kolasinac and lofted a cute finish over Artur Boruc, who could only get a weak palm onto the ball as it looped over his head.

Bournemouth responded well and created a couple of decent chances to level, the best falling for Ryan Fraser, whose strike was saved well by Bernd Leno in the Arsenal goal.

But, with Arsenal looking dangerous going forward, the last thing the Cherries needed was to give their hosts a helping hand.

Alex Iwobi, on for Kolasinac, flicked an Ozil cross into the side-netting before fellow substitute Lacazette drew a decent save from Boruc.

There was nothing the Poland goalkeeper could do as Lacazette bent home a superb free-kick after Charlie Daniels had fouled Lucas Torreira – the striker sending his effort up and over the Bournemouth wall to extend the lead further still.

Koscielny took a knock towards the end of the contest but Arsenal prepared for Saturday's north London derby in some style.