It was a tricky day at the office for Arsenal on Saturday as they lost momentum in the Premier League title race. Bournemouth tipped up to the Emirates Stadium and won 2-1 with ease – and Martin Keown has slammed Mikel Arteta’s side for not passing to a certain player.
With the chance to go 12 points clear now fluffed, the Gunners will be looking ahead to their Champions League tie with Sporting CP but there was a lot to learn from their defeat to the Cherries.
Eli Junior Kroupi opened the scoring before Viktor Gyokeres responded from the spot 18 minutes later.
Read More: Time to drop him? Arteta urged to drop ‘not good enough’ star following Bournemouth loss
It was Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott who became the man of the moment, though, as he slipped through Arsenal to bag the deciding goal in the 74th minute. And Keown was left frustrated.
Keown slams Arsenal in wake of 2-1 Premier League defeat to Bournemouth
From Viktor Gyokeres blaming the dry pitch to Mikel Arteta being told that Gabriel Martinelli should be replaced by Max Dowman moving forward, post-defeat has been rather chaotic for Arsenal.
The youngster entered the fray in the 54th minute – alongside Eberechi Eze and Leandro Trossard – but failed to make much of a difference.
Dowman, 16, has been a source of inspiration in weeks gone by (as evidenced by his last-minute goal against Everton) but that wasn’t the case as Bournemouth ran out 2-1 victors against Arteta’s men.
Although the promising forward was ineffective throughout his short cameo, Keown has claimed that it was largely on the Arsenal players. That was because they, time and time again, struggled to find him on the flank.
“Arsenal fixed the play and the picture never changed,” he said while speaking to TNT Sports, per The Metro. “Arsenal then couldn’t develop the play into their midfield players.
“Even when [Max] Dowman came on, we were all screaming to give him the ball, but they didn’t have enough good control of the ball in the midfield and that is all down to Bournemouth and Arsenal not mixing their game enough.”
From a statistical point of view, the teenage sensation took 17 touches – just five of which were in Bournemouth’s 18-yard box – and failed to complete his solitary dribble during 36 minutes on the pitch.
Mikel Arteta remains coy when touching on Bukayo Saka’s fitness
Although Gyokeres believed the dry Emirates pitch was an attributor to their poor performance, Arsenal’s long injury list – including Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard – is a much better explanation.
Saka, Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori were all absent in Arsenal’s 2-1 loss on Saturday; and Arteta, following his side’s chastening defeat, provided an update on the trio’s fitness.
“No [on Calafiori], and on Martin [Odegaard] as well, no. Bukayo Saka, too. We don’t have an update,” the Gunners boss claimed.
Saka is yet to play a minute for Arsenal since March’s Carabao Cup final defeat and, although he is struggling to find his form, he would be a key upgrade on their current options on the flank.
With the fixtures continuing to come thick and fast, Arsenal will be yearning for the return of many of their key players. Sporting CP, Manchester City and Newcastle United are on the horizon…
