Mikel Arteta described Arsenal’s 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth as a “punch in the face”, leaving the Gunners once again on the brink of the title race. Arsenal’s fate remains in their own hands, but the pressure will increase ahead of next week’s showdown with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Arteta asked Arsenal fans to make some noise before the lunchtime kick-off, and in fairness they did just that. Instead, the final whistle sounded at the Emirates Stadium to a chorus of boos, dealing a decisive blow to Arsenal’s title chase.
The Gunners manager told TNT Sports: “It’s disappointing. It’s a big punch to the face. It’s a matter of how we react now. They are a team that hasn’t lost in 11 games for a reason and they did a lot of things right. We were far from efficient. The first chance they had to attack into the box, it was a deflection, a bad defensive move and a goal. That’s where we have to bounce back.”
“We expect it to be a different game in the second half. We did a lot of weird things today. We were very consistent. Things like this can happen. This is football.”
As for whether his players were injured, he said: “They should be pretty sore. We’ve got to put stress on our jaws. Get up and go and fight or you’re out. It’s a big week. There’s a lot at stake. We’re still in a good position in both competitions.”
If you think about it, that’s not surprising. The title hopefuls got off to a poor start, found themselves behind after 17 minutes, and were probably lucky to be awarded a penalty midway through the first half. Having dragged themselves to the half-time break, Arsenal continued to hold their breath after the restart and it was no surprise that the third goal of the game came at the end of Bournemouth’s attack.
Evanilson linked up well with Alex Scott to score a goal that shook Arsenal’s nerves. They are still nine points clear at the top, but crucially City have two games left, with Arsenal traveling to the Etihad next weekend.
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