Match Review: Bournemouth 2-0 Arsenal

Written by Oliver Nehila

Yesterday’s clash in a rainy Bournemouth resulted in our first league loss in 2024 after conceding goals from a inch-perfect set piece routine and a penalty.

Battle of two childhood friends delivered the most surprising result of the weekend. Bournemouth shocked Arsenal by Ryan Christie's brilliant finish from a pinpoint training ground corner routine. No more than 10 minutes later, the Cherries punished Jakub Kiwior's individual error after Evanilson won the penalty when he attempted to take the ball around David Raya. Even though the contact between the two was minimal, Robert Jones decided to award a penalty to Bournemouth which Justin Kluivert reliably converted into his first Premier League goal this season.

Bournemouth started the game very active with aggressive pressing which caused us problems in the build-up. Despite our team being predominantly built on tall and athletic players, we struggled to match Bournemouth's physicality. We found it hard to create chances in final third and lacked accuracy in decision making. On a positive note, Mikel Merino has registered his first Premier League start. 28-year-old Spaniard started as a right no.8 and left a good impression but the absence of Martin Ødegaard was still visible.

Everything changed in 28th minute of the game when Leandro Trossard's poor-quality pass put Evanilson through on goaland William Saliba fouled him. Jones showed Saliba yellow card at first, but VAR overturned his decision as the France international denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. It was our third red card in eight Premier League games so far this season which rises tons of questions about the discipline of our team. This was also the 18th red card we have received in the Premier League since Arteta's arrival, more than any other side in that period.

Sending off heavily affected our game plan and forced Arteta to be even more pragmatic and to focus on the defence. The Spaniard opted to bring on Kiwior instead of Sterling which unfortunately minimised our attacking threat for the rest of the game. Saka's injury was meant to be another opportunity for Raheem Sterling to get minutes but another red card disrupted Arteta's plans.

Hosts took control of the game straight at the beginning of the second half. Iraola trusted his plan and was constantly encouraging his players to carry on in the same intensity and style. We let Bournemouth to dictate the tempo of the game. They looked energised while we could not keep up.

However, it could have been a completely different story if Gabriel Martinelli scored his curled shot past Kepa Arrizabalaga. However, Spanish keeper showed great reflex and saved himself from his clinical mistake. Less than two minutes later, we tasted our own medicine as some would say. Fantastic signal from a corner and even better strike by Christie gave Bournemouth a well-deserved lead.

Final nail to our coffin came in 79th minute. Kiwior tried to play the ball back to Raya but his pass was diabolical and let Evanilson go one-on-one against Raya. Raya made a sufficient contact with Brazilian striker who went down in the box and gave Jones no chance but to blow the whistle. Kluivert sealed the victory for Bournemouth from the spot.

Overall, this performance was the reminiscence of our game against Fulham at Craven Cottage last season. We lost because of naive mistakes, lack of discipline and concentration. Arteta did not manage the game well both tactically and with his substitutions. Each player from the bench was either not impactful or came on late. For the first time in a while, it felt like Arteta could not find a plan B.

Thankfully, we have less than 72 hours to redeem ourselves in Tuesday's Champions League game against Shakhtar Donetsk. Much bigger test is on Sunday against Liverpool, though.Current leader of the Premier League is in incredible form and hopeful to continue their away winning streak. Upcoming schedule will tell us more about our resilience and if we can bounce back to garnering points from away grounds again.