Match report – Participant rankings – Arteta response – Video
Arsenal suffered a primary defeat of the season after an error strewn efficiency towards Bournemouth yesterday night.
The group noticed Ben White return, Raheem Sterling exchange Bukayo Saka on the correct, 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 a wierd sport. 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 making an attempt to do, I’m undecided, 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 VAR urged a assessment, after which the yellow card was rescinded and a pink pulled out as an alternative for denying a goalscoring alternative.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 via? Sure, I feel so, even when it was a good 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 try this earlier than, greater than as soon as, and even when they went via and scored, there was a lot 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 possibility to make sure Saliba could be suspended for our sport towards them subsequent week, he took it.
That made it an uphill battle, and for the third time this season we have been all the way down to 10 males for an prolonged interval. No matter in regards to the rights and wrongs of the selections, it’s an issue we have to get on prime of. On this occasion it was only a freakish in-game state of affairs, a bizarre, unhealthy move 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 might have been him, however I do marvel if we might have reorganised in a different way. Might Declan Rice have gone to centre-half, the place he has performed quite a bit in his profession, and also you then have Partey and Merino as a pure left-right midfield duo which suggests you may preserve your broad 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 appeared pretty safe regardless of being a person gentle. There have been a few moments for the house aspect, an early second half likelihood which Antoine Semenyo blasted over, however by and enormous they didn’t trigger us too many issues.
We additionally had an excellent likelihood to go forward once 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 an excellent save, however these are moments it’s a must to soak up video games like this. I don’t suppose it’s the worst miss I’ve ever seen or something, however that may have modified the trajectory of the sport in an enormous means.
The truth that 60 seconds later Bournemouth went forward solely heightened these regrets. It was a pleasant nook routine, completed very nicely by Ryan Christie, and whereas we are able to get forensic on the best way we defended it – as a result of we did have numbers within the field to have minimize off that likelihood being created – it was a nicely labored objective, so we needed to reply.
Right here, I want Mikel Arteta had reacted extra shortly from the bench. It’s quite a bit to ask of a 17 yr previous, however as he confirmed within the Leicester sport, I feel Ethan Nwaneri ought to have been on earlier to offer 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 (way over 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 dissatisfied with the outcome and gutted as a result of we needed to play a sport in that context, much more tough 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 not possible job, an accident ready to occur to not get the factors and I can not fault the group for his or her effort, dedication, how clever they play in the best way they must do it.
There’s a massive second at 0-0 when we now have an enormous opening, one-on-one state of affairs with the keeper and we don’t handle to attain and on the different finish, we try this. We now have to fault ourselves; soccer is a sport the place errors are a part of that, tonight we made two massive errors that has value us the sport sadly.
Whereas Declan Rice was forthright too, saying:
The matter of the actual 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, dwelling to Brighton, away to Metropolis, however not on a regular basis luck can go your means.
We’ve acquired to cease making errors.
To be truthful, we’re not a group that normally makes a variety of errors. The Rice/Trossard pink playing cards have been mainly unprecedented, and it’s price noting we haven’t seen every other participant from every other group dismissed for his or her ‘offences’. Final night time, Saliba’s pink 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 simply 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 vital gamers like Saka and Odegaard, and enjoying for over an hour with ten males. That’s our fault, however it’s very arduous to correctly assess a efficiency once you’re at that form of drawback for thus lengthy.
There’s a really fast likelihood to react with a Champions League sport on Tuesday towards Shaktar Donetsk, earlier than we face Liverpool subsequent weekend at dwelling. The form of sport that may get you again on monitor in an enormous means. However the actuality is, except we are able to preserve 11 males on the pitch for 90 minutes, we’ll wrestle. I’m hoping that is only a freakish form of run in the beginning of the season that may right itself over the period of the marketing campaign, however a lot of that’s in our personal palms.
Proper, I’ll depart it there for this morning. Have an excellent Sunday of us, again tomorrow with extra and an Arsecast Additional.
Till then.
