The manager, set to depart after this season, transformed the Cherries into a legitimate talent factory and one of the Premier League’s most entertaining sides
The walls of the Emirates could hardly contain Andoni Iraola’s beaming grin. As he crossed the touchline last Saturday after Bournemouth’s 2-1 win, his stride wasn’t one of rushing disbelief. He applauded the away support in between tousles of his charges’ heads and slaps on their sweat-soaked backs. The coach knew his side had completely outplayed the league leaders for their third win in four against Arsenal.
This wasn’t a Bournemouth upset of old. It was further evidence that these arenas have never been more welcoming to the Cherries – and these arenas are the sites that Iraola is ready to call his next home.
For two decades, Bournemouth’s miraculous rise from administration and the cellar of League Two to the Premier League failed to build a reputation as spoilers. When Eddie Howe’s side dismantled Sarriball in 2019 and handed Chelsea one of their worst defeats of the Abramovich years, the 4-0 victory in Dorset was “impossible” for the Italian to comprehend. This was Bournemouth, after all.
How their stars have changed thanks to a Basque import.
