JORDON Ibe’s inaugural goal for Cherries proved the difference as Eddie Howe’s men came from a goal down to stun Arsenal 2-1 at Vitality Stadium.

The former Liverpool winger, a £15million signing in July 2016, struck on his 46th league appearance for the club to seal their first ever victory over Arsene Wenger’s men.

Ibe’s strike proved pivotal after striker Callum Wilson’s well-taken equaliser had cancelled out Hector Bellerin’s 52nd minute goal for the visitors.

The Londoner’s previous competitive strike came for the Reds in May 2016 when he netted in a 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion.

Cherries went into the contest having never beaten Arsenal in six meetings between the clubs.

The home side made three changes from their previous Premier League fixture - a 2-2 draw with Brighton on New Year’s Day.

Nathan Ake, Dan Gosling and Ryan Fraser were included in Eddie Howe’s starting XI, Harry Arter, Marc Pugh and Benik Afobe all dropped to the bench.

Joshua King and Junior Stanislas remained out through their respective injuries.

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere was judged fit to start against his former loan club.

The England international was included in Wenger’s line-up following an ankle injury scare at Chelsea in midweek.

There was no Alexis Sanchez for the Gunners however, as speculation surrounding his future in north London intensified.

Cherries started the contest brightly and had the first sight of goal after just four minutes.

A deep cross from Charlie Daniels found fellow wing-back Adam Smith.

The former Tottenham man controlled well and fired just wide from the edge of the box with visiting keeper Petr Cech diving to his left.

But back came the Gunners, who went within inches of opening the scoring through youngster Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

The England under-21 international twisted and turned away from two covering defenders and rattled with crossbar with a curling effort on the angle.

Alex Iwobi then took aim two minutes later and stung the palms of Cherries stopper Asmir Begovic with a fierce drive from range.

Maitland-Niles continued to be in the thick of the action. He almost cost his side the opener having gifted the ball to Ibe on halfway.

The winger raced forward on the counter for the hosts but failed to find a key pass to one of his team-mates and the chance went begging.

As the contest began to settle, Dan Gosling found himself to be the first name in referee Kevin Friend’s notebook.

He was judged to have dived and was shown yellow by the match official after defender Shkodran Mustafi lunged into a challenge.

Wilshere then started to influence proceedings in the middle of the park for the visitors.

He played in Iwobi on the right, whose angled delivery across goal narrowly evaded the lurking Danny Welbeck, who scored twice when the sides met at the Emirates in September.

Cherries skipper Simon Francis was then booked after he was judged to have tripped Welbeck, with the Arsenal forward looking to burst down the flank.

The hosts continued to soak up pressure and Begovic was forced to come to the rescue once again.

The Bosnian keeper reacted well to save with his feet from Welbeck, after Alexandre Lacazette played a sublime lofted ball through to the England striker.

Mustafi flicked the ball just wide from a corner soon after.

It was Cherries who ended the first half the better however and they had claims for a penalty waved away by man in the middle Friend.

After Smith was fouled by Maitland-Niles, Ibe’s free-kick from out wide appeared to strike the elbow of Iwobi, with nothing given.

That was not to stop the hosts building momentum however. Fraser let fly with a vicious effort which was well blocked by the covering Calum Chambers.

The Scotland winger narrowly failed to keep another shot down two minutes later as the sides went in goalless at the interval.

Parity was to be short-lived following the break, as Arsenal took the lead on 52 minutes.

Iwobi’s perfectly weighted pass found marauding wing-back Bellerin, whose powerful drive squirmed under Begovic and looped into the net.

Soon after the opener, Welbeck found himself in the wars after tussling with Steve Cook just outside the area. But after receiving treatment, he was able to continue.

Howe looked to the bench just past the hour mark and bolstered his attacking options with the introduction of Lys Mousset.

The France under-21 international came on in place of full-back Daniels, with the hosts reverting to a back four and Smith switching to left-back.

Tame efforts from Fraser and Ibe were comfortably gathered by Cech as Cherries looked to increase the tempo.

The change soon paid dividends for Howe’s men as they drew level with 20 minutes remaining.

A slick one-two between Mousset and Fraser allowed the Scot to swing in a cross for Wilson, who had found space between Bellerin and Chambers to steer the ball home.

And four minutes later, it was Ibe who proved the hero as Cherries raced into a 2-1 lead.

A cross from the left was brilliantly held up by Wilson, who teed up the winger to rifle the ball under Cech and send the home crowd wild.

With one goal under his belt, Ibe almost added to his tally. He drilled marginally off target after finding space on the edge of the Arsenal box.

But with his afternoon over, the 22-year-old was given a standing ovation by the home fans when he was replaced by Marc Pugh four minutes from time.

Despite absorbing a spell of pressure late on, Howe’s men held firm to cap a memorable victory and move up to 13th in the league table.

Cherries (3-4-2-1): Begovic; Francis, Ake, S Cook; Smith, Gosling, L Cook, Daniels (Mousset, 63) Fraser, Ibe (Pugh, 86); Wilson (Afobe, 90+1).

Unused subs: Simpson, Surman, Arter, Boruc (g/k).

Booked: Gosling, Francis.

Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Cech; Chambers (Ramsey, 74), Mustafi, Holding; Bellerin, Wilshere, Xhaka, Maitland-Niles; Iwobi (Walcott, 76), Welbeck; Lacazette.

Unused subs: Kolasinac, Mertesacker, Elneny, Nketiah, Ospina (g/k).

Booked: Xhaka, Wilshere.

Referee: Kevin Friend

Attendance: 10,836