Arsenal’s third red card of the season left them out at sea on the South Coast, as Bournemouth took advantage to beat them 2-0.
William Saliba’s sending off left the Gunners in all kinds of trouble, but it took the Cherries a long time to make them pay.
In the second half, though, they finally found their goals, first courtesy of Ryan Christie and then Justin Kluivert. Those two, a pair of substitutes, inflicted on Arsenal their first defeat of the Premier League season.
As it happened
For a title-chasing team, these games should be a formality. Bournemouth – sat in 14th, victims of their own inconsistency – should have been a pretty straightforward task for Arsenal, this albeit a side without the talismanic figures of Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka. At first, that’s what this game looked like; the Gunners were chipping away, the Cherries were holding on. Then things changed.
In the opening half hour, Arsenal had 58% of the ball. What they were able to do with it was another story all together; in that time, they could hardly muster a coherent passage of play, let alone a big chance. But what they were certainly doing was finding their feet. Bournemouth had had one shot, a hit-and-hope from Antoine Semenyo after David Raya uncharacteristically passed the ball straight to the opposing midfield, and Arsenal were broadly in control of proceedings.
Something still needed to happen to liven up the game, though. Arsenal, methodical as they may have been, were pretty uninspiring. They needed a bit of luck, an injection of quality, a moment of brilliance. What they didn’t need was Leandro Trossard looping a hospital pass in the direction of a thoroughly exposed William Saliba just before the half hour mark.
On the Frenchman’s tail was Evanilson. This was a gift; he’d be through on goal, only Raya between him and a Bournemouth lead well against the run of play. Saliba couldn’t let that happen. He panicked, made a snap decision, and tugged the striker down to the ground.
At first, it looked as though he’d got away with murder. Referee Rob Jones reached for his pocket, the colour of his card yellow. Video assistant referee Jarred Gillet had other ideas. A recommendation and a trip to the screen later, the yellow was no more, a red card as if a kiss of death taking its place.
Embed from Getty ImagesArsenal – for the third time already this season and the 17th time under Mikel Arteta – were down to ten men. Bournemouth smelt blood.
In the remaining 20 minutes of the first half, the home side had things virtually all their own way, barring a guilt-edged miss from Mikel Merino on 35 minutes. Semenyo, as he has been so often this season, was the architect, tying Arsenal’s thinning defence in knots whenever he got the opportunity. Even when the damage limitation of Jakub Kiwior came on in place of Raheem Sterling, the Gunners were up against it.
But Bournemouth still couldn’t fashion a big chance. The closest they came in the first half came after another hair-raising moment from Raya, spilling Semenyo’s low cross in the 41st minute before reacting in a flash to deny Marcus Tavernier on the follow up.
The game had been completely flipped on its head. All of a sudden, Arsenal were the ones holding on. Halftime couldn’t come soon enough.
Whatever Mikel Arteta said during the break clearly didn’t resonate quickly enough. Almost as soon as life was breathed into the second half, they were on the receiving end of the biggest chance the game had yet seen, with Dango Outtara crossing into the area where Semenyo was as free as a bird. With acres of space either side of him and more than enough time to steady himself, he inexplicably blasted his effort well over the bar. This was a warning shot; it really should’ve been the killer blow.
For the next 25 minutes, no one took control of the game. Bournemouth allowed Arsenal relative comfort for far too long, particularly when Kepa repeated Raya’s first half blunder by passing the ball straight to Merino in midfield. The Spaniard spun and played Gabriel Martinelli through on goal, but the former Chelsea keeper made amends for his error with a smart save. It really was copy and paste from the first half.
That was in the 69th minute, and it clearly woke Bournemouth up. A minute later, Luis Sinisterra won a corner and Lewis Cook had a plan brewing. He didn’t whip the ball for one of the big men; instead, he fizzed it low towards Justin Kluivert, who flicked the ball beautifully behind him where Ryan Christie was on the move. Not wasting time to take a touch, the Scottish international fired the ball into the top left corner; Raya didn’t even move, and it likely wouldn’t have mattered if he did. Finally, 45 minutes of football after the red card, Bournemouth were in front.
Embed from Getty ImagesNow the game was theirs to grasp. 76 minutes in, a long ball over the top was hit too close to Kiwior. He attempted to play the ball back to his goalkeeper but sold him very short. The pass was much too weak, and Evanilson was lurking. He latched onto the loose ball and Raya came to meet him. When he tried to take the ball round him, the Spaniard dropped down, missed the ball altogether and wiped out the striker. It was a clear penalty.
Up stepped Kluivert, already with an assist to his name, who proceeded to send Raya the wrong way and slot his penalty into the bottom right corner. This was three points in the bag, Evanilson having all but won Bournemouth the game without even scoring a goal. Kiwior, for his part in the melee, suffered the ignominy of being a substitute to be substituted off, with Gabriel Jesus taking his place.
Jesus or not, the game was now decidedly lost. Bournemouth took their sweet time taking advantage of their man advantage, but once they laced their shooting boots, there was no looking back. This was a big win, taking them up to 10th, leapfrogging Manchester United in the process.
This was not what Arsenal and Mikel Arteta needed, though. A win would’ve sent them to top spot for the first time this season; instead, they’ll have to settle for third place, at risk of either falling behind Chelsea or going four points behind league leaders Liverpool depending on who wins their game tomorrow.
A famous day for the Cherries; a nightmare for the Gunners, this their first away loss in the Premier League since New Year’s Eve. With Ødegaard and Saka still stuck on the treatment table, it’s fair to say this was not what the doctor ordered.
The lineups
BOU: Kepa; Kerkez, Senesi, Zabarnyi, Araújo; Cook, Scott; Outtara, Tavernier, Semenyo; Evanilson
ARS: Raya; Calafiori, Gabriel, Saliba, White; Merino, Partey, Rice; Trossard, Havertz, Sterling