Nelson, Arshavin, Welbeck - Ranking Arsenal's most dramatic Emirates goals

The Emirates silverware cabinet is still waiting to welcome its first Premier League trophy since the 2003-04 season, but Mikel Arteta's magical young crop are taking giant stride after giant stride to the pinnacle of English football, thanks in no small part to a few sensational fightbacks.

Manchester City fans would have been rubbing their hands with glee when Bournemouth roared into a two-goal lead in North London on Saturday, but in keeping with the theme of their season, Arsenal - and in particular Reiss Nelson - refused to wave the white flag.

Crashing home the fifth and final goal of that 3-2 victory with seconds remaining, Nelson's effort was lauded as the most emotional moment that Arteta had ever witnessed at the Emirates Stadium - keeping his side five points clear at the top of the table - but where does the 23-year-old's heroic strike rank truly rank in that regard?

Here, Sports Mole counts down the five most dramatic goals to have ever been scored by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

5. Thierry Henry - Leeds United - January 9, 2012

Following Saturday's enthralling victory, Arsenal boss Arteta claimed that he did indeed believe in fate - a sentiment surely shared by Arsenal fans when the club's greatest-ever goalscorer donned the famous red and white for a couple of months in 2012.

With Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho away on Africa Cup of Nations duty, Henry returned to Arsenal from the New York Red Bulls on a two-month loan deal, and the legendary Frenchman harnessed his timeless clinical abilities to sink Leeds United on his second debut for the club.

With 78 minutes gone in their FA Cup third-round tie, Henry was found on the left-hand side by 2011-12 assist king Alex Song, and the striker calmly curled home into the far corner to send the Emirates into delirium.

Unrestrained celebrations followed for Henry, whose goal proved to be the decisive strike in that third-round affair, and he would add a 228th and final goal to his Arsenal tally against Sunderland before bidding farewell for the second and final time.

The ex-France international's last-minute header against Manchester United in 2007 was an honourable mention - especially for a man who was never renowned for any sort of aerial prowess - but the script could not have been written more perfectly for him five years later.

4. Jose Sa (own goal) - Wolverhampton Wanderers - February 24, 2022

Only two weeks before reconvening at the Emirates, Wolves did not take kindly to Arsenal's celebrations in their 1-0 win at Molineux last season, but Arteta's men responded the only way they knew how - celebrating even harder.

Vengeance was on the menu for Wolves, who took the lead through Hwang Hee-chan thanks to a defensive error from Gabriel Magalhaes, and the Wolves faithful were perhaps able to rest easy in the knowledge that it had been over three years since they last lost a Premier League game when scoring first.

However, Arsenal's pressure finally told in the 82nd minute, as Nicolas Pepe's smart turn and finish drew the Gunners level, but the spoils would seemingly be shared as the fifth and final minute of added time approached.

The never-say-die attitude that encapsulates this Arsenal side shone through, though, as Pepe fed then-captain Alexandre Lacazette, whose scuffed shot was deflected into his own net by Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.

A penny for the thoughts of Ruben Neves - one of the most vocal critics of Arsenal's hurrahs - as the Emirates imploded, although their pursuit of a top-four place would ultimately end in failure.

3. Andrey Arshavin - Barcelona - February 16, 2011

Two days after Valentine's Day in 2011, Gooners' one true love warmed their hearts when Barcelona came to town for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 affair, as Arsene Wenger oversaw the most famous European result in Arsenal history.

Having been put to the sword 6-3 on aggregate by the Catalan giants in the 2009-10 campaign, a similarly abject affair was seemingly on the cards for Arsenal when David Villa beat the offside trap and slotted home the opening goal at the Emirates.

Pep Guardiola's Blaugrana were 12 minutes away from travelling back to base with a first-leg lead, but Robin van Persie had other ideas, catching out Victor Valdes from a tight angle to get Arsenal back on terms.

Indebted to a performance well beyond his years from a 19-year-old Jack Wilshere, an Arsenal attack in the 83rd minute was sparked by the former midfielder, who beat the Blaugrana's intense press before Cesc Fabregas sent Samir Nasri on his way.

Cutting inside from the right, Nasri found a charging Andrey Arshavin to curl home into the bottom corner, sealing a wonderful Arsenal win in North London before a 3-1 defeat at Camp Nou - marred by that controversial red card for Van Persie - ended their continental fantasy for another year.

2. Danny Welbeck - Leicester City - February 14, 2016

A goal that could and maybe should have taken Arsenal all the way to Premier League glory, unsung hero Danny Welbeck returned from injury in the most spectacular fashion to settle their top-of-the-table meeting with Leicester City in February 2016.

Prior to the Englishman's introduction, Jamie Vardy quickly made himself public enemy number one at the Emirates, going down under minimal contact from Nacho Monreal inside the area at the end of the first half and converting the resulting spot kick.

Claudio Ranieri kept his celebrations to a minimum on the touchline, and not getting ahead of himself proved to be a wise decision from the Italian, whose side's lead was wiped out by Theo Walcott's close-range effort with 70 minutes on the clock.

Nevertheless, the 10 men of Leicester - who had Danny Simpson sent off in the 54th minute - were seemingly set to hold on for a point, but the late introduction of Welbeck would spark some of the wildest celebrations that the Emirates will ever see.

The Englishman, making his first competitive appearance in 10 months, rose highest to meet Mesut Ozil's free kick with a deft header in the fifth minute of added time, but a second-placed finish would be the consolation prize for Wenger's men that year as Leicester finished at the top of the pile.

1. Reiss Nelson - Bournemouth - March 4, 2023

While the previous four goals on this list will live long in the memory of Gooners, not one of them ended up proving decisive in Arsenal's respective silverware or top-four quests, but the three-time Premier League champions are now just 12 games away from ending that unsightly theme.

Travelling to North London in hope rather than expectation, Bournemouth fans would have been pinching themselves when Philip Billing drew first blood with only nine seconds on the clock, and Arsenal's nightmare would be prolonged when Marcos Senesi headed home from a corner in the second half.

However, Thomas Partey crashed home at the back post only five minutes after Senesi's header, and as was the case against Leicester in 2016, bringing on an English attacker whose career has been blighted by injuries sparked a miraculous turnaround.

Seeking to emulate his feats off the bench against Nottingham Forest earlier in the season - when he scored twice and set up one more - Nelson's cross to the back post found Ben White to score his first Arsenal goal and level the contest at 2-2, and the Gunners would be gifted at least six minutes of added time to pull off the unthinkable.

With 97 minutes on the clock, Bournemouth could only clear a corner as far as the edge of the box - where Nelson was waiting - and the 23-year-old brought the ball down with his right foot before unleashing a thunderous left-footed strike into the far corner.

While Nelson cut a relatively cool figure, the same could not be said for his colleagues. Gabriel and Martin Odegaard dropped to the turf, White gave a time-wasting Neto Moura an earful, and Arteta could not help but sprint down the touchline to join in the pandemonium.

Whatever happens with Nelson's long-term future - the Hale End graduate's contract expires at the end of the season - the Arsenal man will forever have a page in Gunners folklore if Arteta's men end up lifting the Premier League trophy aloft.