Arsenal’s Premier League hopes suffered a huge blow at the weekend with defeat to Bournemouth, with further worrying signs for Mikel Arteta
Arsenal’s hopes of winning the Premier League were dashed at the weekend (Image: Getty Images)
Arsenal’s creativity was let go against Bournemoose and their hopes of winning the Premier League were further dented. The Gunners lost 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, with goals from Eli Junior Crupi and Alex Scott sealing victory for the south coast side.
The defeat leaves Arsenal nine points adrift at the top of the Premier League, but Manchester City could close the gap quickly. Despite their lackluster performance, manager Mikel Arteta has reason to worry in some ways.
In their defeat to Bournemouth, Arsenal actually scored 2.53 goals against (xG), but only 0.19 of those goals came from open play. Victor Gokeres’ shot from the penalty spot was registered for the home team.
After the full-time whistle, Arteta lamented his team’s approach against Bournemouth. “It’s very disappointing. It’s a big punch in the face. But what I said to the players is, now it’s how you react to it. It’s going to take a lot of mental strength and a lot of fighting from now on because it’s a match and we’re very clear on how we’re going to approach it.”
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“There are no gray areas. We have wins, we have losses, and especially when the game doesn’t go our way, we have to be very, very strong and determined to approach it differently than we did today.”
“We need everything. First of all, we need everyone who is eligible and ready to play. So the players who are not involved, the players who are not with us, the players who are really big and important, we need them to be with us right away, because then we will be stronger, and the other players also need to step up.”
“I’m the guru. And accept this challenge and go for it. So today we have to suffer, it hurts and it feels terrible. But tomorrow is a different day. If someone had told me in August that we would be in this situation right now in April, we would all accept it for sure.”
Arsenal struggled for creativity against Bournemouth (Image: Getty Images)
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Arsenal have a huge chance to breathe new life into their bid for the Premier League title when they travel to the Etihad to take on Josep Guardiola’s Manchester City next weekend. Before that, they will also aim to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Arsenal currently enjoy a 1-0 win against Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon in midweek thanks to a late goal from Kai Havertz.
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