It was too much to ask for Arsenal to lose away from home in the Premier League for the first time since the start of the season and to play with 10 men this time.
This was the third man-less game the Gunners have played in eight league games this season; in fact, they have plenty of practice playing with a man down.
This time, referee Robert Jones was recommended by VAR to change the yellow card he had given to a red after the French defender had hauled down Bournemouth’s Evanilson, and William Saliba was the one given the boot.
Following a sloppy ball from Leandro Trossard, the striker managed to get past Arsenal’s defense, and Saliba was ruled to have dragged him back. Saliba was sent off for the first time in his Arsenal career, and the Gunners were facing an uphill battle from that point on. It felt like instinct.
Nevertheless, Bournemouth didn’t score until the 70th minute, and it was ironic that they did so from a set-piece.
That has frequently been Arsenal’s most potent weapon, but on this occasion, a routine that would have been proudly displayed in Nico Jover’s scrapbook outperformed them.
After Justin Kluivert flicked the ball behind him, Ryan Christie shot the ball into the upper corner from a corner that was put into the near-post.
After nine minutes, Kluivert had doubled the score. Once more, Jakub Kiwior sold David Raya short with a careless back ball, which proved to be Arsenal’s undoing. After the goalkeeper knocked down Evanilson, Kluivert scored with ease from the penalty spot.
The play segment encapsulated Arsenal’s entire evening. They never quite got along and couldn’t find their normal rhythm, even with ten men.
Although Gabriel Martinelli added some pace off the bench, Bournemouth took the lead before he could capitalize on the visitors’ best opportunity. Mikel Merino, a player for Martinelli, pounced on a faulty ball from Kepa, but the winger’s effort was saved.
Arsenal will want to forget this performance as soon as possible, and they should be grateful that it should be simple to do so because they play again on Tuesday in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk.
They missed Bukayo Saka’s inventiveness here, which was even more apparent because Martin Odegaard was still out, so they will be hoping to have him back for that.
