Rice double helps Arsenal rally for win at Bournemouth and take six-point lead in Premier League

Declan Rice proved why he's a leading candidate to be the Premier League's player of the season by inspiring Arsenal to a come-from behind victory at Bournemouth that opened up a six-point lead on Saturday.

The England midfielder scored two second-half goals — with almost identical low, side-footed finishes — in a 3-2 win on the south coast.

Rice was a doubt for the match because of a knee injury that forced him out of the 4-1 win over Aston Villa on Tuesday. He was fit enough to return and was the difference between the teams.

“We are going to need everyone chipping in at different points so happy to help the team,” said Rice, who scored twice in a Premier League game for the first time.

Arsenal fell behind in the 10th minute when Evanilson stroked into an unguarded net after intercepting a woeful pass out from the back by Gabriel Magalhaes.

The Brazil center back made amends by lashing in the equalizer six minutes later, following a mazy run by Noni Madueke, for a second goal in as many starts since returning from six weeks out injured.

After Rice's double, a long-range strike by Bournemouth substitute Eli Junior Kroupi in the 76th minute made for a tense finale but Arsenal held on to record a fifth straight win, keeping Villa and Manchester City at arm's length in the title race.

Villa is the closest challenger to Arsenal after a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest.

City can return to second place, four points behind Arsenal, by beating Chelsea on Sunday.

Villa rebounded from its first loss in two months — at Arsenal — when captain John McGinn scored twice in the second half, building on England striker Ollie Watkins' long-range opener in first-half stoppage time.

Morgan Gibbs-White reduced the deficit to 2-1 in the 61st minute only for McGinn to restore Villa's two-goal cushion after a poor piece of goalkeeping from Forest's John Victor, who raced out of his area in an attempt to collect a ball over the top. McGinn easily rounded Victor and slotted the ball home from 30 yards (meters).

Victor went off injured immediately after the goal.

Villa's 11-game winning run — which included eight victories in the league — was ended on Tuesday by a 4-1 thumping by Arsenal.

Wolves beat West Ham 3-0 to finally claim a first league win of the campaign and end its historically bad start to a top-flight season.

No team has taken this long to record its first win in a Premier League since the competition’s inception in 1992.

Jhon Arias, Hwang Hee-chan and Mateus Mané scored first-half goals for Wolves, which moved onto six points, still 12 from safety with 18 games remaining.

Wolves manager Rob Edwards said he was torn between feeling “a bit of relief and really pleased.”

“We should enjoy it," he said, "but it’s only one win. That’s all it is.”

Wolves was only six points behind next-to-last Burnley, which lost at Brighton 2-0, and eight off third-to-last West Ham.

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo said his team's performance was “embarrassing” and the worst in his coaching career.

"I don’t recall one day that I felt so bad in a football pitch,” Nuno said.

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Arsenal's Declan Rice celebrates after scoring his sides third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Bournemouth and Arsenal in Bournemouth, England, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Arsenal's Declan Rice celebrates after scoring his sides second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Bournemouth and Arsenal in Bournemouth, England, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Brighton and Hove Albion's Georginio Rutter, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion and FC Burnley in Brighton and Hove, England, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-Chan, right, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United in Wolverhampton, England, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Nigel French/PA via AP)

Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins, right, has a shot saved by Nottingham Forest goalkeeper John Victor during their English Premier League soccer match in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Cody Froggatt/PA via AP)

Aston Villa's John McGinn celebrates scoring their side's second goal during their English Premier League soccer match against Nottingham Forest in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Cody Froggatt/PA via AP)

Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during their English Premier League soccer match against Aston Villa in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Cody Froggatt/PA via AP)

Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during their English Premier League soccer match against Nottingham Forest in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Cody Froggatt/PA via AP) /PA via AP)

Aston Villa's John McGinn celebrates scoring their side's third goal during their English Premier League soccer match in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — More than 24 hours before the first shot flew at a Final Four that really feels like a five-team affair, Arizona already had a win.

The Wildcats kept their coach from bolting to that fifth team — North Carolina.

Tommy Lloyd dropped the news of the contract extension that will keep him in Tucson through 2031 at Friday's news conference in advance of a titanic matchup against Michigan.

The meandering coaching search at one of the country's most storied programs has shared headlines with Saturday night's much-anticipated national semifinal that happens to feature two of Carolina's reported coaching targets.

"We’ve been able to get some things done the past couple days," Lloyd said.

Like Lloyd, Michigan coach Dusty May has spent most of this tournament batting down speculation that he might be the replacement for Hubert Davis, who was fired after the Tar Heels blew a 19-point lead in a loss to VCU in the first round of the tournament last month.

Not surprisingly, May was asked about it again the day before the big game.

“Yeah, I love it at Michigan, but you’ll never hear me comment on any other job unless Michigan lets me go and then I’ll comment on every job,” he said.

It's no big surprise that these two coaches are among the hottest commodities in hoops. Just look at the teams they brought to Indy.

There are no fewer than nine potential NBA stars sprinkled across the two rosters, which is why the winner of this, the second of Saturday night's semifinals, will almost certainly be a favorite against the UConn-Illinois winner in the undercard.

“It's the Final Four for a reason. It's the best teams, the best four," Arizona freshman Brayden Burries said. "UConn, Illinois, they're great teams. If we do win Saturday, we know we have a great shot at it. But no, we're not thinking about that now.”

Depending on which mock draft you check, Arizona's top NBA pick will either be Koa Peat (14 points, 5.5 rebounds) or Burries, a 16-point-a-game, McDonalds All-American who is shooting 68% from 3 over the tournament.

It's a striking stat for a team that attempted the third-lowest percentage of 3s in the country, if only because of all the tall, lanky talent it has across the court.

“We're doubling down on what we're good at, and we're believing in Coach Lloyd," said Arizona guard Jaden Bradley, a senior who has spent three years in Tucson after transferring from Alabama. “I like to get in the paint and get fouled. And when teams take that away, we're capable from 3 and we can knock those down, as well.”

Michigan is a 1 1/2-point favorite, according to the BetMGM Sportsbook, in a matchup of the top two teams in the KenPom rankings.

Michigan's best — but hardly its only — NBA prospect is Yaxel Lendeborg, who has scored 25, 23 and 27 in three straight blowout wins in the tournament.

Lendeborg came to Michigan last offseason from UAB. He was part of a quick rebuild, the likes of which are made possible in the era of the rapid-fire transfer portal. The architect is May, who himself arrived in Ann Arbor two seasons ago, just a year removed from a Final Four appearance with Florida A&M.

Michigan's four top scorers — Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr., Aday Mara and Elliot Cadeau — played at different colleges last season.

May conceded to feeling some relief now that the transfer portal is considered a legit way to build a roster. Gone are the days of spending hundreds of hours recruiting high schoolers, only to learn that they've chosen someplace else.

“When I say we’re saving time, we don’t waste time with all the other things,” May said. “We still have to do our research. We still have the intel. We still have to spend an inordinate amount of time. We just don’t have to spend it the way we used to.”

As this Final Four is showing, it's not just the players whose every move is under a microscope.

“I didn’t want to make this entire Final Four about that because I’m just a small part of something much bigger,” Lloyd said of his contract extension. “But on that same note, I’d also like to let you know that North Carolina is an amazing place. I mean, it’s a one of one. It’s an honor to even be considered for that job.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Arizona guard Brayden Burries smiles after a win over Purdue in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 28, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Kelley L Cox)

Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg passes during practice ahead of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Michigan head coach Dusty May watches during practice ahead of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd watches during practice ahead of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against against Michigan at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)