Arsenal boss Unai Emery reveals why he left Mesut Ozil out against Bournemouth

The German was absent as the Gunners extended their unbeaten run to 17 matches

Unai Emery has revealed why he left Mesut Ozil out of Arsenal's win over Bournemouth on Sunday.

The Gunners extended their unbeaten run to 17 matches with victory after they had drawn their last three Premier League fixtures.

Aubameyang slid in to tuck home and seal a 2-1 win after Joshua King had equalised for Bournemouth following a remarkable Jefferson Lerma own goal.

Ozil was a surprise omission from the team at the Vitality Stadium as Emery opted for a back three.

"We thought about how we could be better with a very demanding match with physicality and intensity and we decided [to not play him]," Emery explained afterwards.

"Also, today we played with three centre-backs, like some moments in the season we will work like this and it's another possibility for improvement, to find our best performance in the squad."

Arsenal have not tasted defeat since August and are now just a point outside the top four - with Emery happy with the display on the south coast.

"Today is 17 matches we haven't lost, but the last three matches we drew," he said.

"We know that is not enough for us, for our objectives. We were speaking during the week and above all in the two days before the match that it was very important today.

"Today the three points is a big moment for us. The result is very important but also we spoke in the dressing room after the first half, when they scored, about the process in our mentality.

Ozil was left out by Emery (Action Images via Reuters) (Reuters)

"The result is very important. When they scored we needed to keep calm and continue to control, getting better in small things on the pitch.

"We knew this is a difficult stadium, a difficult team. They were four points behind us and it was a very important match to be near us. I am very happy how the players, also the supporters pushed and helped us today."