Written by Arsenal visited Bournemouth in another game of the English Premier League. This was however a very difficult outing because the plans of the Gunners to finish the day on top of the Premier League was thwarted.
Bournemouth had other things in store for Arsenal and they executed their plan very well especially after getting a boost from William Saliba’s red card. The French international player got a red card after just thirty minutes of playing. He was sent off after the intervention of the VAR.
The solid centre back will now miss the big game between Arsenal and Liverpool next weekend. This is indeed a big blow to the Gunners because the best players will be out of the game with injuries too and now suspension because of a red card.
Arsenal held on with only ten men on the pitch. Mikel Arteta was forced to make a technical change and Raheem Sterling was the casualty this time after getting into the starting lineup. He was substituted and his place was taken by Jakub Kiwior.
Arsenal managed to hold on the entire of the first half and the two teams went for the half time break when the score line was 0-0.
Things fell apart for Arsenal in the second half. Bournemouth got a breakthrough after Justin Kluivert gave Ryan Christie a good pass that led to the first goal of the home team. Bournemouth beat Arsenal in their own game of set piece by scoring a very nice set piece goal.
Bournemouth then got a penalty and Justin Kluivert was given the opportunity to take the penalty kick. This was after Jakub Kiwior’s back pass did not materialize and hence put David Raya in a very compromising position that made him to bring down his opponent in his penalty box.
Jakub Kiwior’s mistake was further punished by Mikel Arteta and he went ahead and made the bold step of also substituting him despite the fact that he was initially a substitute. His place was taken by Gabriel Jesus.
The other substitutions that Mikel Arteta made were, Leandro Trossard with Gabriel Martinelli, and Mikel Merino with Ethan Nwaneri.
Andoni Iraola also made some changes in his squad. He substituted Julian Araujo and replaced him with Adam Smith, Dango Quattara with Luis Sinisterra, Alex Scott with Ryan Christie, Marcus Tavernier with Justin Kluivert and Evalison with Enes Unai.
The game ended 2-0 in favor of Bournemouth. This was Arsenal’s first Premier League loss this season.