3 things that went wrong for Arsenal in Bournemouth defeat

Arsenal have had plenty of great days over the past couple of years. Heck, there have been special weekends where we've revelled in another Tottenham collapse or a potential title rival dropping more points to complement an arrogant Gunners triumph.

This was not one of those weekends.

Arsenal's Saturday was bad enough with the Gunners deservedly succumbing at Bournemouth after Spurs had come from behind to down West Ham in the early kick-off. Even Manchester United thought they'd try this 'winning' thing.

Then, once the dust had settled from Saturday's defeat, we saw Manchester City escape Molineux with a last-gasp victory and league leaders Liverpool continue their excellent start to the season. Is Chelsea losing a tiny consolation?

So yeah, not a great 48 hours. But hey, we've been spoiled over the past couple of years and more prosperous weekends lie ahead for this Arsenal team. Just imagine how sweet it'll feel when we squeeze out a 1-0 victory over Arne Slot's Reds this weekend?! We might even have a VAR decision go our way! Haha, don't be silly.

In all seriousness, I'm not going to discuss the officiating here. I actually think VAR had a pretty good weekend and made up for a few on-field blunders. We can shout conspiracy and corruption all we like, but that's the easy way out. This Arsenal team has to be held accountable at times, and they were bad on Saturday.

Here's what went wrong for the Gunners during their 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth.

1. First-half red card

For the third time in eight Premier League games, Arsenal were forced to play a large chunk of the contest with ten men. You can certainly have your gripes over the petulance of Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard's earlier dismissals, but there's little room for complaining here.

This was a red card - the first of William Saliba's professional career.

"We've kicked ourselves in the foot three times in eight games and we got away with it at home to Brighton and away at Manchester City. Bournemouth kept probing and made it 2-0," Rice refreshingly said post-match before lamenting his side's "naivety".

Winning games in the Premier League is tough enough 11-v-11. Arsenal can ill-afford to put themselves at such a distinct disadvantage so regularly. We've already dropped seven points from eight games - a rate that simply won't cut it when you're competing against the likes of City and Liverpool for the title.

2. Risk-averse Arteta

Arsenal mitigated a tough run after the September international break, with Arteta leaning on his side's physicality and his own pragmatic edge to ensure his side escaped the gauntlet unscathed.

However, did Arteta's pragmatism go too far on Saturday? Without Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, Arsenal struggled for connections and cohesion in possession even when the game was 11-v-11. Their possession play was stodgy, and Bournemouth's sound press ensured the Gunners spent much of the opening exchanges stuck in their own third with the ball.

The absence of Odegaard undoubtedly hinders our build-up, and Mikel Merino - a big-bodied midfielder with technical quality - didn't have much of a say when he attempted to drop in. However, my issue on the risk-averse front didn't lie with Arteta's team selection, but the substitutions he made.

The boss opted to withdraw Raheem Sterling after Saliba's dismissal, reducing the number of outlets on the pitch before Gabriel Martinelli entered the fray. As a result, the Gunners resorted to aimless long balls which Kai Havertz struggled to win (the German won less than 50% of his 13 aerial duels).

As the second half wore on with the scores still level, there could've been an opportunity for Arteta to turn the tide with the brave introduction of Ethan Nwaneri, who would've helped his side progress up the field. The youngster was bright late on but the game was already gone.

3. Huge chance wasted

I might not be spending my Monday afternoon crafting this post had Martinelli delivered with the one big moment Arsenal had in the second half - their only shot on target.

The untested Kepa Arrizabalaga tried his best to hand Arsenal a goal when his terrible pass ended up at the feet of Merino, who coolly got the ball out of his feet and laid it on a plate for Martinelli.

A goal here would've been so on brand for this Gunners team, who seemingly always find a way, but it wasn't to be. Martinelli's first-time telegraphed effort was comfortably saved by Kepa, and a superb corner routine proved to be Arsenal's undoing at the other end two minutes later.

That was the big moment Arteta and his side had been waiting for, but Martinelli, whose chance was worth 0.51 xG, spurned it.

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