TEN-MAN Cherries endured a heartbreaking finale to a stunning night of football at Vitality Stadium as Olivier Giroud struck two minutes into stoppage time to earn Arsenal a 3-3 draw, after the Gunners had trailed 3-0 with 20 minutes to play.

Charlie Daniels opened the scoring for Cherries on 16 minutes, with Callum Wilson netting his sixth goal of the campaign from the spot four minutes later.

It looked for all the world as if Ryan Fraser had sealed Cherries' first ever win over the 13-times English champions when he scored on 58 minutes,

But quickfire goals from Alexis Sanchez and Lucas Perez cut the Gunners' deficit, before Simon Francis was red carded and Giroud pounced at the death.

Cherries immediately set about trying to hurry Arsenal out of their stride, albeit with little initial success as the visitors expertly manoeuvred the ball out of a series of tight spots.

When Dan Gosling caught Francis Coquelin on his heels high up the pitch, however, it teed up Joshua King for a long-range shot that travelled past Petr Cech's right-hand post.

More than that, it heralded the arrival of Cherries in the game as an attacking force.

At the heart of much of their best work was the effervescent Junior Stanislas.

The winger sent a crunching long-range drive into Cech's midriff, before turning his hand to more creative matters.

First Stanislas threaded a delicious ball into the box for Wilson, who went over under the fast-closing Cech's challenge.

Referee Michael Oliver, having detected the merest touch on the ball from the goalkeeper's glove, declined to award a penalty.

Cherries didn't need any outside help to find success on their next raid forward.

Stanislas collected a pass from Gosling on the right touchline and promptly delivered a sublime cross-field ball that eliminated Hector Bellerin en route to Daniels.

The left back's first touch was immaculate. His second, to drift by Bellerin, wasn't bad either.

And Daniels' finish, inside Cech's near post, surpassed the quality of his initial work.

One goal up Cherries had two options: they could rein themselves in and take stock... or they could try to strike while the iron was hot.

They chose the latter.

King and Wilson – the duo reintroduced into the side in place of Benik Afobe, who is awaiting clearance from DR Congo to play during the Africa Cup of Nations, and the ineligible Jack Wilshere respectively – combined to win possession on halfway.

Wilson was impeded as he sped forward – but Oliver played a terrific advantage, enabling the striker to feed Fraser to his left.

The winger headed straight for his opponents' area, where he was shoved to the deck by Granit Xhaka.

Oliver was in no doubt this time, pointing straight to the spot.

Wilson, who scored from 12 yards when the teams met at Emirates Stadium five weeks ago, repeated the trick here, rolling the ball into the middle of the goal.

Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey both fired off target as Arsenal sought a response – Ramsey's shot on the turn taking a nick off Nathan Ake on its way wide.

The visitors, though, were reeling.

Shkodran Mustafi got himself out of jail after playing Wilson onside from Steve Cook's hopeful forward ball, the defender sliding in to take advantage of Wilson's hesitancy and shovel the ball behind.

Harry Arter then screwed a shot past the post after terrific play by Daniels and Fraser down the left.

Alex Iwobi was similarly wayward when presented with a shooting opportunity by substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's cut back, before Stanislas's dipping 20-yard strike was millimetres from sending his side into the break three to the good.

The previously anonymous Giroud made a hash of a header from another Oxlade-Chamberlain delivery shortly after the interval.

Cook then got a vital toe on the ball as Aaron Ramsey shaped to shoot after blitzing through Cherries' midfield via a one-two with Giroud.

Arter thought he had added his name to the scoresheet when he venomously returned Cech's punched clearance into the back of the net.

The deflection the ball had taken on its journey, though, was off Wilson's arm.

Instead, the honour of scoring Cherries' third fell to Fraser

Arter was in acres of space to receive Boruc's throw. So too, Daniels when he gathered from Arter.

Bellerin looked favourite to reach Daniels' subsequent pass first, but Fraser bundled his way through the Spaniard and burrowed in from the left to stroke the ball past Cech.

Sanchez then had a shot blocked by Arter, and Fraser was injured in the process of being denied his second goal by Oxlade-Chamberlain's last ditch tackle.

But just as the visiting fans piped up with a chorus of "this is embarrassing", so their team sprung into life.

Sanchez stooped to head home on 70 minutes after Giroud had flicked on Oxlade-Chamberlain's latest, devilish right-wing cross

And just five more minutes had elapsed when substitute Lucas Perez cracked a glorious left-foot volley inside Artur Boruc's left-hand post after being teed up by Giroud.

If Cherries were under the cosh now, they would soon be in full-on retreat, with Francis harshly red carded for a challenge from behind on Ramsey.

And after a few close run things Giroud rose above Cook to glance Xhaka's cross beyond a scrambling Boruc and into the left corner of goal.

There was still time for Cech to beat away an Arter strike at his near-post, but Arsenal had done enough to wriggle off the hook.

Cherries (4-4-1-1): Boruc; Francis, Cook, Ake, Daniels; Stanislas, Gosling, Arter, Fraser (A Smith, 68); King (Surman, 63); Wilson (B Smith, 90+1).

Unused subs: Mings, Mousset, Ibe, Federici (g/k).

Booked: Cook, Boruc, Arter.

Sent off: Francis.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny (Gabirel, 64), Monreal; Coquelin (Oxlade-Chamberlain, 28), Xhaka; Iwobi (Perez, 63), Ramsey, Sanchez; Giroud.

Unused subs: Holding, Reine-Adelaide, Maitland-Niles, Ospina (g/k).

Booked: Bellerin, Ramsey, Mustafi.

Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).

Attendance: 11,202.