Mikel Arteta lamented “a game of errors” as Bournemouth inflicted a first defeat of the season on Arsenal at the Vitality.
Chasing a win to go top of the table, Arsenal endured a torrid afternoon. William Saliba was sent off after 30 minutes for bringing down striker Evanilson as he threatened to break through on goal, and from that moment, the Gunners lost control of the match.
After the break, Andoni Iraola’s side took charge. Ryan Christie broke the deadlock with 20 minutes remaining, firing into the top corner from a well-executed corner routine before David Raya conceded a penalty, which Justin Kluivert calmly converted to seal the 2-0 victory.
In truth, even with 11 men, Arsenal, missing Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, failed to convince in the final third.
“Very disappointed with the result,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “Obviously we came here to win the game and that’s the way we prepared it. Again, it’s tough enough to play against this opponent at home and we knew the first few moments were going to be very intense; high tempo, man-to-man situations, we had to cope with that. We started to get some momentum in the game, more control, better understanding and then after 30 minutes you’re down to 10 men and you have to play 67, 68 minutes in this league again with 10 men, and that’s an accident waiting to happen.
“We tried, we tried very hard, very smartly as well in many moments, we had the biggest chance in the game with [Gabriel] Martinelli and 0-0, you put that in and game on, a big chance to win it. At the other end, we concede a goal and then it’s very difficult. It’s a game of errors, tonight we made two big ones that cost us the game, it’s the third time we’ve played a game with 10 men and at this level it’s very complicated.”
“Credit to Bournemouth. But when you understand that an opponent has been better and they’ve done something different or you didn’t reach your level [that’s one thing] but today, it’s two mistakes.
“Again, they are part of football, it’s not the moment to put the finger into nobody because their attitude is excellent and they really wanted it and really tried, it’s been tough mentally as well to play for those long periods in this league in these conditions. Today, unfortunately, we paid the price.”
After going down to 10 men at Manchester City and against Brighton – games that ended in draws – the Gunners have had plenty of experience playing with their backs against the wall. However, on this occasion, the dynamic of the game was different. Instead of protecting a lead, there was a game to be won and it ultimately slipped out of view.
“It was a different context, we were on top, we were winning the game [against City and Brighton], it was very different. Today we had to win it. We changed certain things in the second half and we were much better and had many more situations and actions in the final third and we had the biggest chance. With 10 men you can have two or three situations, no more. And we didn’t capitalise on that and then we got punished.”
Asked about Saliba’s red card, which was dished out by referee Robert Jones following a VAR review by Jarred Gillett, Arteta said: “The decision has been made, it was made on the pitch, then it was changed on the pitch and certainly now they are not going to change it. So decision made.”
OK for Saliba to be sent off but not others in similar situations. Ditto Rice.
im not gonna argue the red card, but is it really that obvious? he seems to touch tavernier’s shoulder and he falls like a sack of potatoes. while being on the same line as him, literally on the halfway line. i don’t know, while i guess i can understand why it was given, it seemed a little bit harsh
If it was given first time I’d have no complaints. It was a bit dumb. But is it a ‘clear and obvious error’? And are they not applying a ‘higher threshold’ for VAR intervention?
That was my issue as well. Never seen one of those even go to VAR.
No, it wasn’t harsh. It was always gonna be a card offense. Wilo would’ve been the luckiest man alive of he it stood as a Yellow card and bournmoth probably robbed. It was a fair decision. Arsenal were toothless the whole of first half, no creativity in the middle of the park. The team selection (and not the red card) cost us the game in my opinion – I beg to wonder why Partey, Rice & Merino all started the game in midfield – so crazy. Nwaneri is the closest thing we have Odegard. He should’ve started inbtwn Partey and… Read more »
I think you’re over stating the obviousness. It was on the halfway line. Show me an example of when a straight red was given for that offense in that part of the pitch.
A case in point: Rugby tackle on a player who is running through, closer to goal than this incident and VAR official Jared Gillet did not recommend a review of Michale Oliver’s yellow card decision. Makes you wonder, eh?
https://twitter.com/AFCAMDEN/status/1847707761930375336
People say Man city and Liverpool are our biggest rivals, but I think it’s Arsenal FC. We are our own worst enemy. Season after season these games bite us in the ass at the end. Martinelli, we should be looking for an upgrade. Had he scored, this could have been 3 points. Havertz and Rice are absolute warriors.
Game was littered with Arsenal mistakes even with 11 men. Not a good showing here and the next 3 games could very well decide our season. Already. We could lose them all unless we show some discipline. I don’t think there has been a game this season without drama. Too much for the nerves.
Hopefully, we don’t see the Rice, Merino, TP5 midfield combo ever again. My first reaction after seeing the team sheet was “where is the creativity?” I wasn’t convinced that midfield would work. 21 minutes in, my suspicion had been confirmed. One of the reasons we have become a very good away side in the EPL is because we take the sting out of games in the first few minutes, quieten the crowd, and then impose ourselves on the opposition. Odegaard is a key, KEY, part of that. Hardworking, duel-winning monsters that they are, Merino-Rice don’t seem to be the kind… Read more »
I don’t get what Merino is supposed to be. I thought when he was signed he was supposed to be that “box-crasher” player getting on the end of moves. Even if I never expected him to be creative, I didn’t think he was going to be another DM to add to the 3 we already had. All I’ve seen him do so far is make tackles and lay it off to people. Hopefully he just isn’t up to the speed of the league yet. Which is kind of annoying in its own way, seeing as how he was bought as… Read more »
If 2 of Partey/Rice/Merino are playing, Jorginho HAS to be the third midfielder (assuming Arteta feels it’s too soon for Nwaneri). He is so much more technically secure than the others and is our best non-Norwegian passer of the ball from midfield in my opinion.
I think even adding a Jorginho to any 2 of those pairings still won’t cut it.
Let’s just get Rice to his natural #6 position, get Merino to the left 8, and use a creative midfielder (Øde, Trossard, Nwaneri, and maybe even Zinchenko) on the RHS. Part-ey/Jorginho can be rotation options for Rice/Merino.
Let the man play at least 10 games before coming at him
You forgot Salah-Eddine. He will probably leave at the end of the season if Arteta does not use him.
I think it’s helpful to think of this game in stages. In stage 1, it’s 11 vs 11 and there’s a feeling out process, waiting for their energy to ebb a bit, probing their soft spots. Their press was good. We tried to play through anyway, with little luck. Then we started to go long, as I thought we’d do from the off. Merino/Rice would win high regains and second balls, play Sterling in the halfspace and we could score from his cutbacks. It was starting to work, and then red card blew it all up. In stage 2, we… Read more »
I am not an Arsenal fan, and that decision seemed VERY borderline. It’s subjective, but that far out I have seen yellow more often than not (it seems). I suppose based on where the ball went, the chance might have been more clear cut than others I have seen, but on top of the two outrageous reds, it certainly seems like Arsenal are never going to get the benefit of the doubt.
Put it this way – I’ll be interested to see what happens if a Man City player does the same thing this season.
I always prefer playing a big team after the international break, because then both sides are generally equally affected by players missing in the buildup. Bournemouth had a full two weeks to prepare for today, whereas only White and Sterling from our squad were in training until Wednesday. So, yes, we were quite shit and yes this is a damaging result, but we’re still a top team and as long as we can get to Dubai in January within touching distance I still think we can win the league.
For them it was a Cup final kind of game, not for the Gunners
This loss is on Arteta. The team was grossly imbalanced with the selection and the unfamiliar positions some players appeared to be shoehorned into.
Well, it’s early season. I doubt this loss is damaging. However, we really need to stop all these red cards! It’s killing our momentum!