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Mikel Arteta has acknowledged that Arsenal’s surprising 2-0 loss to Bournemouth was “an accident waiting to happen” after William Saliba’s red card contributed to their first Premier League defeat since April.
Arteta’s team, chasing the Premier League title, had to play with 10 men for an hour after Saliba was sent off for a professional foul on Evanilson. Initially shown a yellow card by referee Rob Jones, the decision was upgraded to a red following a VAR review.
This marks the third time this season that an Arsenal player has been dismissed, following red cards for Declan Rice against Brighton and Leandro Trossard at Manchester City.
Arteta admitted that these disciplinary issues have made it tougher for the team to secure wins, with Arsenal managing only two points from the three games in which they’ve been reduced to 10 men.
“It’s extremely challenging to win a Premier League game with 10 men for 60 minutes. It was an accident waiting to happen. We’ve had to go through this in three games now, and it cost us,” Arteta said.
“We had a key moment in the game to score and change the result, but then we conceded. We try to follow the rules, but the red cards have been different in each case, and the outcomes varied.”
This was Arsenal’s first league defeat since losing 2-0 to Aston Villa at the Emirates last season. The result also denied them a chance to leapfrog Liverpool at the top of the table.
Arteta acknowledged that his third-placed side wasn’t at their best for much of the match at the Vitality Stadium. “The team gave a great effort, especially with 10 men, but it wasn’t enough today,” he remarked.
“It took us a while to figure out what we needed to do in the first 15 minutes. We eventually settled, but everything changed after 30 minutes.”
Midfielder Declan Rice provided a candid assessment of Arsenal’s performance, highlighting a key mistake that led to Saliba’s red card. A misplaced pass from Trossard forced Saliba to pull back Evanilson, leading to his dismissal.
Rice emphasized the need for Arsenal to avoid such errors if they hope to challenge for the title. “We’ve shot ourselves in the foot three times in eight games. We got away with it against Brighton and Manchester City, but Bournemouth punished us,” Rice said.
“I’m proud of how we fought, even with 10 men, but we must cut out these mistakes. You need 11 players on the field for the full 90 minutes if you want to win matches.
“We can’t afford these slip-ups. We need all our top players available for the entire game. The belief is strong in this team, and we will stay united.”