Match report – Participant scores – Arteta response – Video
Arsenal suffered a primary defeat of the season after an error strewn efficiency towards Bournemouth yesterday night.
The workforce noticed Ben White return, Raheem Sterling substitute Bukayo Saka on the fitting, who was not within the squad in any respect, and a primary begin for Mikel Merino in midfield. It was a practical aspect greater than an thrilling one, and it was an odd recreation. The pitch was actually sluggish, closely watered, and that affected the tempo of play for either side. Nothing a lot occurred in both goalmouth till the massive incident of the primary half.
Fairly what Leandro Trossard was attempting to do, I’m unsure, however he performed a ball from inside their half excessive of our defence and into the trail of Evanilson. William Saliba was there, he pulled him again and the referee issued a yellow card. VAR steered a evaluate, after which the yellow card was rescinded and a crimson pulled out as an alternative for denying a goalscoring alternative.
I feel it’s a kind of the place it’s each a bit harsh but in addition comprehensible. Would I would like it if the state of affairs was reversed and it was Gabriel Martinelli, for instance, about to streak by way of? Sure, I feel so, even when it was a great distance from objective. Right here’s the factor for me – when it comes proper all the way down to it, I feel Saliba made a mistake. He’s fast sufficient to have chased Evanilson down, and acquired again to make a sort out. We’ve seen him do this earlier than, greater than as soon as, and even when they went by way of and scored, there was plenty of time to make it proper. However on this event he simply panicked in a cut up second and gave the officers the choice to make. And when the Liverpool fan on VAR had the prospect to make sure Saliba could be suspended for our recreation towards them subsequent week, he took it.
That made it an uphill battle, and for the third time this season we had been all the way down to 10 males for an prolonged interval. No matter in regards to the rights and wrongs of the choices, it’s an issue we have to get on high of. On this occasion it was only a freakish in-game state of affairs, a bizarre, unhealthy cross from Trossard, a nasty resolution from Saliba and in 2 seconds the sport had turned on its head.
The supervisor’s response was to take Sterling off and put Jakub Kiwior on in his place. It’s a substitution I largely perceive, and if anybody needed to come off it will have been him, however I do surprise if we may have reorganised in another way. May Declan Rice have gone to centre-half, the place he has performed rather a lot in his profession, and also you then have Partey and Merino as a pure left-right midfield duo which suggests you may hold your huge gamers on? Possibly it says one thing about how Arteta thinks Sterling would have coped with the work required all the way down to 10, however that’s one other dialog.
To be truthful, that substitution got here into sharper focus late on with Bournemouth’s second, however for essentially the most half we seemed pretty safe regardless of being a person gentle. There have been a few moments for the house aspect, an early second half probability which Antoine Semenyo blasted over, however by and huge they didn’t trigger us too many issues.
We additionally had a superb probability to go forward after they made a mistake on the again, Merino did very well to feed substitute Gabriel Martinelli however he couldn’t discover the end. It was each a nasty miss and a very good save, however these are moments it’s important to soak up video games like this. I don’t assume it’s the worst miss I’ve ever seen or something, however that might have modified the trajectory of the sport in a giant method.
The truth that 60 seconds later Bournemouth went forward solely heightened these regrets. It was a pleasant nook routine, completed very effectively by Ryan Christie, and whereas we will get forensic on the way in which we defended it – as a result of we did have numbers within the field to have reduce off that probability being created – it was a effectively labored objective, so we needed to reply.
Right here, I want Mikel Arteta had reacted extra shortly from the bench. It’s rather a lot to ask of a 17 yr outdated, however as he confirmed within the Leicester recreation, I feel Ethan Nwaneri ought to have been on earlier to present the midfield that spark of dynamism that he brings. Possibly it was one thing the supervisor was planning, however by the point it occurred, it was too late. Kiwior under-hit a back-pass to Raya, Evanilson went down (excess of being fouled however these penalties are nearly all the time given), and Justin Kluivert made it 2-0 from the spot.
Kiwior suffered the ignominy of being a sub who then will get subbed, however at that time it was a case of throwing on Nwaneri and Jesus and hoping for a miracle. One which didn’t arrive, clearly, and for the primary time this season we failed to attain in a Premier League, and misplaced.
Afterwards, Arteta stated:
We’re clearly very disillusioned with the end result and gutted as a result of we needed to play a recreation in that context, much more troublesome than within the earlier two that we already confronted this season. Taking part in for 65 or 68 minutes with ten males at this stage is simply an inconceivable activity, an accident ready to occur to not get the factors and I can’t fault the workforce for his or her effort, dedication, how clever they play in the way in which they must do it.
There’s a large second at 0-0 when we’ve got a giant opening, one-on-one state of affairs with the keeper and we don’t handle to attain and on the different finish, we do this. We have now to fault ourselves; soccer is a sport the place errors are a part of that, tonight we made two large errors that has value us the sport sadly.
Whereas Declan Rice was forthright too, saying:
The matter of the very fact is, we’ve kicked ourselves within the foot 3 times now this season in eight video games. We’ve acquired away with it twice, house to Brighton, away to Metropolis, however not on a regular basis luck can go your method.
We’ve acquired to cease making errors.
To be truthful, we’re not a workforce that normally makes lots of errors. The Rice/Trossard crimson playing cards had been principally unprecedented, and it’s price noting we haven’t seen another participant from another workforce dismissed for his or her ‘offences’. Final night time, Saliba’s crimson card was two errors, the penalty was a mistake, and even earlier than that, the normally impeccable David Raya had a few whiffs which is uncharacteristic for him. So, it’s tempting to place it down to only being a kind of nights.
Maybe the efficiency does communicate to some underlying points, however for me it comes all the way down to being with out actually essential gamers like Saka and Odegaard, and enjoying for over an hour with ten males. That’s our fault, but it surely’s very exhausting to correctly assess a efficiency while you’re at that form of drawback for thus lengthy.
There’s a really fast probability to react with a Champions League recreation on Tuesday towards Shaktar Donetsk, earlier than we face Liverpool subsequent weekend at house. The form of recreation that may get you again on monitor in a giant method. However the actuality is, until we will hold 11 males on the pitch for 90 minutes, we’ll wrestle. I’m hoping that is only a freakish form of run initially of the season that can appropriate itself over the length of the marketing campaign, however a lot of that’s in our personal arms.
Proper, I’ll depart it there for this morning. Have a very good Sunday of us, again tomorrow with extra and an Arsecast Further.
Till then.
