Arsenal, third in the Premier League, missed the opportunity to put pressure on their direct opponents in the title race, namely Liverpool (first) and Manchester City (2nd). Indeed, this Saturday evening, the Gunners fell at Bournemouth (0-2) and thus remain stuck on the last step of the podium, now not overtaking Aston Villa (4th), winner on the lawn of Fulham (1-3) a earlier, than the goal difference. In the event of success against the Cherries, Mikel Arteta’s players could have temporarily taken the lead in the ranking, and thus ahead of the Reds and the Citizens, who will only play this Sunday (respectively against Chelsea and Wolverhampton).
While they were deprived of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard due to injury, the Gunners generally sinned at Bournemouth in terms of creativity and displayed an astonishing feverishness, which was illustrated by the lack of risk-taking by Mikel Merino for his first tenure, by the errors in the foot play of David Raya and, above all, by the expulsion of William Saliba in the 30th minute.
The former Stéphanois, who had already suffered with the Blues during the victory in Belgium (1-2) last Monday, received, at 23, the first direct red card of his career after bringing down Evanilson, who was spinning alone on goal, following a missed full-axis back pass from Leandro Trossard.
An expulsion with serious consequences
This sanction could prove to have serious consequences in the title race. Firstly because it weakened the rearguard of the Gunners this Saturday and contributed to the success of the Cherries, since Jakub Kiwior, entered the axis to compensate for the absence of Saliba, and then left in the 81st minute, is directly at fault on the second goal conceded by his team, his transmission too sluggish for Raya forcing the latter to cause a penalty, transformed by Justin Kluivert (2-0, 79th). Furthermore, the French central defender will be absent during the clash against Liverpool, scheduled for October 27 at the Emirates.
And even if, after the break, Arsenal showed a little more confidence, in the wake of a decidedly radiant Kai Havertz this season, the Londoners ultimately created few dangerous chances, with the exception of a face-to-face between Gabriel Martinelli and Kepa, won by the Spanish goalkeeper (69th). And Bournemouth’s opening score was logical, since the Cherries first almost scored through Antoine Semenyo (36th, 47th) before finding the opening thanks to Ryan Christie (1-0 , 70th), who found himself at the conclusion of a marvel of combination, on a corner shot behind and deflected by Kluivert (0-1). Thanks to this deserved victory, Bournemouth temporarily moved from 13th to 10th place in the standings.
