Arsenal slipped to their first Premier League defeat of the season on Saturday as Bournemouth ran out 2-0 winners at the Vitality Stadium.
Mikel Arteta was left to rue his side’s defensive mistakes after seeing his side beaten 2-0 at Bournemouth to slip to their first Premier League defeat of the new season.
William Saliba left Arsenal with a mountain to climb after being sent off in the first half. The Frenchman was initially shown a yellow card for a tug on Evanilson but it was upgraded to a red to leave the Gunners down to 10 men.
A well-worked Bournemouth goal then saw the Cherries go ahead when Ryan Christie smashed home from a corner to make it 1-0. Nine minutes later, David Raya conceded a penalty for a foul on Evanilson, allowing Justin Kluivert to finish Arsenal off and secure all three points.
GOAL rates Arsenal’s players from the Vitality Stadium…
Goalkeeper & Defence
David Raya (4/10):
Made a few good stops but was guilty of a few shaky moments too and eventually ended up giving away a penalty.
Ben White (5/10):
Back in the team but struggled to get into the game and looked a little off the pace
William Saliba (3/10):
Picked up the first red card of his Arsenal career with a tug back on Evanilson.
Gabriel (6/10):
Tried his best but found it tough going after Saliba went off.
Riccardo Calafiori (6/10):
Couldn’t get forward but did OK defensively.
Midfield
Declan Rice (6/10):
Tried his best to hold Arsenal together after the Gunners had been reduced to 10 men but it was a tough shift.
Thomas Partey (6/10):
Decent performance in the centre of the pitch but found himself bypassed at times.
Mikel Merino (5/10):
Made his first start of the season for Arsenal but gave the ball away far too often.
Attack
Raheem Sterling (5/10):
Came in for the injured Bukayo Saka but made little impact and was hooked after the sending off as Arteta tweaked his team.
Kai Havertz (6/10):
Worked and battled hard but saw very little of the ball.
Leandro Trossard (4/10):
A poor showing from the Belgian who played a part in Saliba’s red card with a poor pass.
Subs & Manager
Jakub Kiwior (4/10):
Came on for Sterling in the first half. His pass put Raya in trouble just before the penalty and he then suffered the ignominy of being taken off.
Gabriel Martinelli (6/10):
Almost scored straight after coming on but put his shot too close to the goalkeeper.
Gabriel Jesus (5/10):
Appealed for a penalty after coming on but the ref wasn’t having any of it.
Ethan Nwaneri (N/A):
Overlooked by Arteta once again and no real time to make an impact.
Mikel Arteta (5/10):
Saw his side really struggle without Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and then William Saliba and didn’t appear to have too many answers. Must improve his team’s disciplinary record too after suffering a third red card of the season already.
